American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
The Economic Consequences of Being Denied an Abortion
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 15,
no. 1, February 2023
(pp. 394–437)
Abstract
This paper evaluates the financial and economic consequences of being denied an abortion. We link credit report data to the Turnaway Study, which collected high-quality, longitudinal data on women receiving or being denied a wanted abortion in the United States. We compare financial outcomes over a ten-year period for women who had pregnancies just above and below a gestational age limit allowing for a wanted abortion. Outcomes evolved similarly for the two groups prior to the abortion encounter. Following the encounter, women who were denied an abortion experience a large increase in financial distress that remains for several years.Citation
Miller, Sarah, Laura R. Wherry, and Diana Greene Foster. 2023. "The Economic Consequences of Being Denied an Abortion." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 15 (1): 394–437. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20210159Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- G51 Household Finance: Household Saving, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination