Divorce, unwed parenting costs taxpayers billions, new study says

NEW YORK — Divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing cost U.S. taxpayers more than $112 billion a year, according to a study commissioned by four groups advocating more government action to bolster marriages.

The study, being released today, was conducted by Georgia State University economist Ben Scafidi. His work was sponsored by four groups who consider themselves part of a nationwide “marriage movement” — Families Northwest of Redmond; the New York-based Institute for American Values; the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy; and the Georgia Family Council, an ally of the conservative ministry Focus on the Family.

Scafidi’s calculations were based on the assumption that households headed by a single female have relatively high poverty rates, leading to higher spending on welfare, health care, criminal justice and education for those raised in the disadvantaged homes. The $112 billion estimate includes the cost of federal, state and local government programs, and lost tax revenue at all levels of government.

While the study doesn’t offer formal recommendations, it does suggest that state and federal lawmakers consider investing more money in programs intended to bolster marriages. Such a program has been in place in Oklahoma since 2001; Texas last year earmarked about $15 million in federal funds for marriage education.

But Tim Smeeding, an economics professor at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, who was not involved in the study, said he’s seen no convincing evidence that the marriage-strengthening programs work.

“A full-employment economy would probably be the best thing — decent, stable jobs,” he said.

Another expert, University of Michigan sociologist Pamela Smock, suggested that bigger investments in education would pay long-term dividends.

“Providing a global number doesn’t give us anything to go on,” said Smock, who was skeptical of the study’s $112 billion estimate.

“We’re now nearing 40 percent of kids in America born out of wedlock,” she said. “I can’t fathom that those marriage programs, even with increased investment, are going to reduce that.”