Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The likelihood that a child in U.S. foster care is adopted depends upon alternatives available to parents. We analyzed a child-level panel from 1998 to 2004, when international adoptions peaked in the US, to estimate the effect of international adoptions and assisted reproductive technologies (ART) on adoption probabilities for foster children, focusing on infants and toddlers. Using granular data on the adopted children's country of origin and placement state, we identify the impact of international adoptions with a shift-share instrument. We find that international adoptions have significant and robust negative effects on foster adoptions, while the estimated effects of ART births are smaller and sensitive to model specification. JEL Classifications: I38, J13, J18
Authors: Anand Murugesan, Robert Innes
Institutions: Central European University, University of California, Merced
Language: English
Topic: Child Welfare and Adoption
Subfield: Safety Research
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,390
OpenAlex ID: W4415263285