Marriage and Families in the US: Melissa Kearney's Controversial Research

The Political Conversation

22-12-2023 • 20 mins

Part 2 of our conversation with Melissa Kearney. Listen to our episode titled "What is happening to marriage and families in the US?" for part 1.

Melissa Kearney, a professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, argues that "we can't keep ignoring the fact that the share of kids raised by one parent is rising — especially among lower income families, and that this is having an impact on the economic mobility of those children."


Kids who grow up in two-parent households tend to have better outcomes, both in young adulthood and later in life.


The New York Times immediately dubbed Kearney's research a blind anti-feminist argument for entering into or staying in a marriage — but this, of course, entirely misses the point. Her research is thorough, nuanced, and clarifying.


What is happening to marriage and families in the US? Listen to Kearney's answer.

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