Dunning delinquent dads - The effects of child support enforcement policy on child support receipt by never married women

Using data from administrative records, the Survey of Income and Program Pa rticipation, and the Current Population Survey, we find that the Proportion of never married mothers receiving child support rose sharply in the 1980s and 1990s. Using within-state variation over rime, we estimate that increa sed government expenditures on child support are responsible for about one quarter of the upward trend in child support receipt. Our results show that child support expenditures and legislation work best in tandem. States tha t both increased expenditures and adopted tougher laws experienced the larg est increase in the proportion of never married mother families receiving s upport.