Short term labour market consequences of teenage pregnancy

Pregnancies by unwed teenagers leading to either a birth or an abortion lead to fewer years of completed education. Less education translates to lower wages and a corresponding decrease in labour supplied to the market. The empirical results for young women who give birth are similar to the findings of other studies. The results for young women who have abortions are original. This research indicates that young women who become pregnant as teenagers have poorer short-term labour market outcomes than other young women who do not become pregnant.