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Could more parental involvement and less abandonment help kids out of poverty? Isabel Sawhill weighs in.
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Welcome back to on the -- foxnews.com.
Live do you know that in 1970.
There were about three and a half million -- single mothers in the United States.
2011.
That what ten million.
Three times.
As many and that seems to be.
A -- Between the single mothers or single -- I guess.
And -- Isabel soil -- senior fellow in economic studies of the Brookings institute.
Which is just -- Baghdad fascinating study on this.
It.
Isabel did help us understand.
More about the calculations.
That that you've made in this study.
And the conclusions perhaps in play even more importantly that you draw from those calculations.
-- I sure Jonathan.
First of all the if if a number of single parent families has more or less tripled as you just sit.
And then when you remember that.
Married couples are four -- five times the better off than single parents.
And other -- single parents poverty rates are very high.
It's clear that one reason that the poverty rate has tended to.
Move up over time holding other things equal is because we have more single parents and their much more likely to be more.
So what's the what did do you have any conclusions on Walt the promises not to this is it is simple as.
Marriage makes people better off.
Well marriage clearly makes people better off most married couples nowadays have two incomes.
A single parent by definition only has one.
So that's a huge difference right there.
In addition.
It turns out as you might expect.
That.
People who are -- tend to have better education.
I tend to be better off to be able to earn more money to begin where it.
Single parents are disproportionately.
Drawn.
From.
Less educated part of the population.
So that place -- role as well.
I gave myself am not sure.
Exactly what we should do.
I don't think that they.
There's big role for government and promoting marriage he we tried that during the Bush Administration.
And we evaluated the impact and it was really not very successful.
On that doesn't mean -- -- leaders in our society should be.
Encouraging.
Young people.
To think about the best environment for raising children yeah I mean I think all the social science research shows very clearly.
That the best environment for kids on average is -- be raised -- Two parent married family.
And more and more.
That's not the case.
Right now the new norm if you will is to have a child outside of marriage.
More than 50%.
The young women under the age of thirty in the United States are now having children.
Outside of marriage I don't think that's a good thing.
Basic is there a breakdown bad though Isabel between.
Outside of marriage and single parents.
What why and what I I guess what I what I'm trying to say is.
People just not getting married but still living together and having children do we have figures the breaks that -- Yes that's a really good question and you're quite right is that many of these unmarried -- are actually co happening with each other so they are living together.
And you could say to yourself well what what differences that make that they don't have a piece of paper -- gone through a religious ceremony.
The only problem is that at the United States at least.
Unlike in some European countries -- having relationships are very unstable.
They typically break up within the first five years.
And if you've got kids in the family and this is not this is not good this is a lot of instability.
In the lives of the family and typically.
Their mom ends up being a single parent at some point anyway I need yet V.
I guess -- not to be flippant about this Isabel but some people would say.
Well a lot of marriage is probably did is close -- -- Lead to divorce.
Divorce leads to poverty on the IE has some cases -- certainly -- being less wealth on both sides.
Well we do have a lot of divorce but unlike unwed childbearing to divorce rate has been coming down the so the trends or at least in the right direction there.
But certainly.
Whether a single parent family is form through divorced or through.
Unwed childbearing amongst people who never married.
There are some difficulties.
Four for the children involved talk on average -- -- yeah -- we all know.
Single parents were doing a great job I don't want to be disruptive disrespectful of that he.
But it's not the ideal it's not the ideal.
Family where where kids are concerned.
And Josef finally very -- very quickly Isabel this is we look I guess there's.
Did did the reaction always to -- -- Well it's kind of an inner city problem for a neighborhoods in the cities I'm not so according to the the figures that -- be looking at.
That's absolutely right it used to be.
That it was associated with the inner city and -- -- tended to support that.
But we have moved now to being.
A country where this is this is the new new war.
And bad particularly amongst people without a college degree.
One of the interesting split census data is between.
Women who have a college degree and those who adult including those who may have gone to college but not completed.
And that the steepest rise and single parent thing.
Is in that middle group you -- not the very poor.
But not the college graduate either of -- the sort of high school graduate may be went to community college.
The sort of sort of middle America if you will.
-- it's a fascinating study -- -- also held senior fellow in economic studies of the Brookings institute thank you so much for sharing that information with us as well.
Thanks for having me all right great to see --
