Journal of Economic Literature
Book Reviews
2026-09-01
Jordan Matsudaira of Cornell University reviews “The Price of Independence: The Economics of Early Adulthood” by Sheldon Danziger, Cecilia Elena Rouse,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Ten papers examine how economic conditions affect young people's transition to adulthood, focusing on the lengthening and increasingly varied transitions in recent generations. Papers discuss failure to launch--crossnational trends in the transition to economic independence; whether the company man is an anachronism--trends in long-term employment in the United States, 1973-2006; health insurance and the transition to adulthood; blurring the boundary--changes in collegiate participation and the transition to adulthood; labor market experiences and transitions to adulthood; young adults leaving the nest--the role of the cost of living; sticking around--delayed departure from the parental nest in Western Europe; to have and to hold--an analysis of young adult debt; family background and children's transitions to adulthood over time; and early incarceration spells and the transition to adulthood. Danziger is Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy and Codirector of the National Poverty Center in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Rouse is Theodore A. Wells '29 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University and Director of the Princeton Education Research Section. Index.”