Open Questions: New Jersey's Family Cap Evaluation

Abstract:

New Jersey's research evaluation became controversial when a preliminary version was leaked to the media. The preliminary report found that births decreased but abortions increased. The final version of the research reported the same trends. However, the stories were fundamentally different: the preliminary report suggested that the decline in births was accounted for by the abortions; the final report concluded that for each abortion, 10 births were averted. Among the open questions explored are whether the findings should be viewed as encouraging.