Economic Trends and the Decline of the African-American Family

By Lowell Alexander

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Over the past couple of decades, the fabric of the African-American family has dramatically changed in the United States. Declining marriage rates, increasing divorce and separation rates and changing fertility rates in and out of wedlock characterizes this change within the African American population. The dramatic decline in the African-American family raises concerns for policy implications in the United States. Presumably, a rising percentage of single parent households will increase the probability of children growing up in poverty. Increased poverty levels will lead to higher dropout rates and thus perpetuate the decline of the African American family. Researchers, economists, and politicians debate over the primary causes for the deterioration of the family within the black population. While some argue that economic theories, such as Becker’s theory of comparative advantage, explain the decline in the African American family, others argue that the cultural change and sociological transition explain this downward trend. Further consideration of these trends and explanations reveal that no single theory or sociological change can exclusively explain the decline in the African-American family. Only a combination of these economic theories and sociological trends can explain the overall decline of the African-American family.

The structure of the African-American family has unquestionably changed over the past generation in the United States. In 1960, 51 percent of black women between the age of 15 and 44 were married as opposed to only 29 percent of that age group in 1988 (Ellwood and Crane, 66). In addition, 28 percent of black women between the ages of 15 and 44 had never married in 1960 compared to 52 percent in 1988. The increase in the percent of unmarried black women has obvious implications for the African-American family. In 1960, roughly 67 percent of black children lived with two parents, by 1988 that figure was less than 20 percent (Ellwood and Crane, 66). These trends not only threaten the traditional values of the American family, they also jeopardize the financial stability of mothers and their children. More and more black children today live in poverty because most single mothers can not afford to support their children. The poverty rate for two-parent black families was 12.5 percent in 1988 while the single-parent poverty rate was 56.3 percent (Ellwood and Crane, 70). Furthermore, studies show that children from single-parent homes are statistically more likely to drop out of school and to have a child out-of-wedlock (Ellwood and Crane, 70). Consequently, sociologists and economists try to determine what caused the decline in the African-American family.

A study by Dan Moynihan, a democratic senator from New York, suggests that recent increases in divorce and separation among black families is a result of high unemployment rates for black males. High unemployment rates and prolonged durations of unemployment strain the bond between husband and wife and create marriage instability from utilitarian, social-psychological, and psychological perspectives. (Starkey, 689). From a utilitarian perspective, unemployment creates marriage instability because of the loss in family income. The loss of income lowers family’s customary level of consumption and standard of living, which decreases the level of satisfaction within the marriage (Starkey, 690). From a social-psychological perspective, the loss of employment brings into question the role of performance of the husband within the marriage. The failure of the husband to earn a steady income lowers marital satisfaction and potentially leads to separation or divorce. Finally, from a psychological perspective, unemployment may expose some of the personal characteristics of the husband. Certain personal characteristics could cause prolonged unemployment (i.e. lack of education, and personal instability), which leads to martial instability (Starkey, 691). In short, Moynihan points to a high level of unemployment as the cause of high divorce rates and the decline in the African-American family.

Some researchers try to explain the decline of the African-American family and the increase in "never married" women by examining the pool of "marriageable men" in the black population. Wilson and Neckerman define the Male Marriageable Pool Index (MMPI) as the ratio of employed males per 100 females in the population (Ellwood and Crane, 75). Presumably, an increase in black male unemployment will yield lower marriage rates because women are less inclined to marry unemployed men. Therefore, the fall in marriage rates within the black community is the result of a fall in employment for black males. However, the "marriageable men theory" has substantial holes; the theory implies that marriage rates should decrease far more for unemployed black males compared to those who already have a job. However, statistics show that marriage rates for employed men decreased equally as much as marriage rates for the unemployed (Ellwood and Crane, 76). In fact, the marriage rates for better-educated black men decreased almost as much as the marriage rates for uneducated black men. Therefore, decreases in the MMPI for black males can not exclusively explain the decline in marriage rates for the black population because employed black males experience the same marriage declines.

Gary Becker, a prominent economist, uses the theory of comparative advantage to explain the decline of the African-American family. Becker views marriage as a means for both husband and wife to increase their utility by exploiting the comparative advantage of their spouse. Marriage is an attractive decision for both men and women because of men’s traditional comparative advantage in generating market income and women’s comparative advantage in "home production" (Ellwood and Crane, 71). Obviously, Becker’s theory relies on the traditional stereotypical roles of men and women (i.e. the men are the breadwinners and the women bear the children). However, the traditional roles of men and women in our society changed over the past couple of decades. Women entered the workforce and can generate their own market income. As a result, the comparative advantage of both men and women has decreased. The relative increase in women’s wages lowers the comparative advantage of men to generate market income for their spouses. Furthermore, women’s entrance into the workforce lowers their comparative advantage to bear children for men. Consequently, over the past couple of decades marriage became an ostensibly less attractive decision for both men and women. More women choose not to marry, which raises the percent of single-parent households.

Many observers of the decline of the African-American family consider welfare as a pertinent issue in the deterioration of black families. Conservative thinkers insist that welfare benefits increase the incentive for mothers to avoid marriage and collect the increased benefits. Studies show that welfare benefits have a very small influence on the marriage tendencies of single mothers, and the recent upswing in female-headed households is not the result of increased welfare benefits (Licher, 136). The increase in the percentage of "never married" black mothers far outweighs the effects of an increase in welfare payments. Most states have experienced a real decline in the value of welfare payments for single mothers. Although welfare benefits affect marriage rates of low-income mothers, this influence does not sufficiently explain the dramatic increase in percentage of "never-married" mothers. Welfare payments have a relatively small role in the sudden increase in female-headed households. Therefore, large reductions in welfare expenditures will not significantly reduce the percentage of female-headed households. Other cultural or sociological changes must explain the rise is the percentage of "never-married" black mothers.

Researchers also suspect that welfare payments affect the fertility decisions of low-income mothers. Policymakers fear that the structure of the welfare system promotes single mothers to bear more children because of increased benefits. As a result, some states are reforming their welfare system to prevent single mothers from collecting higher welfare benefits if the mothers give birth while receiving payments. A study conducted by Philip Robins and Paul Fronstin reveals that welfare payments do not affect the fertility decisions of low-income mothers. However, when adjusted for race, their research shows that the childbearing decisions of black mothers are influenced by welfare payments. In other words, welfare promotes early childbearing for black mothers. The results are only statistically significant for the mothers without a high-school degree; welfare payments do not appear to influence the childbearing decisions on mothers who graduated high school. The results suggest that policy makers should target their welfare reform for single black mothers without a high-school degree. Instead of withholding benefits, policy makers should develop an incentive program to encourage single mothers to graduate high school (Robins, 21). Nevertheless, welfare payments do influence the fertility decisions of low-income black mothers and thus contributes to the breakdown of the African-American family.

The decline of the African-American family is unquestionably severe and a major concern for our society today. The unemployment of black males has strained marriages and increased the probability of marriage dissolution. The falling MMPI deters women from ever marrying and thus increases the possibility of single-parent households. In addition, higher relative earnings for women discourage mothers from ever marrying and also decrease the cost of separation. These trends have increased the number of children living in a single-parent household. Children living in a single-parent household are more likely to live in poverty and drop out of school. Furthermore, the welfare payments of our current system appear to encourage mothers to bear children out-of-wedlock. This effect increases the amount of children living in poverty. All of these trends cumulatively contribute to the decline of the African-American family in the United States over recent decades. As a result, policy-makers must target these trends from every angle to reestablish the traditionally strong American values in our society.

References:

David T. Ellwood and Jonathan Crane "Family Change Among Black Americans: What Do We Know?" in The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Volume 4, Number 4, Fall 1990, pp. 65-84.

Daniel Lichter, Diane McLaughlin and David Ribar, "Welfare and the Rise in Female-Headed Families" American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 103, No. 1, July 1997, pp. 112-143.

James L. Starkey, "Race Differences in the Effect of Unemployment on Marital Instability: A Socioeconomic Analysis", Journal of Socio-Economics, Vol. 25, No. 6, 1996, pp. 683-720.

Philip K. Robbins and Paul Fronstin, "Welfare Benefits and Birth Decisions of Never Married Women", Population Research and Policy Review, Vol. 15, February1996, pp. 21-43.