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Reproductive Care and Policy

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM (CST)

Marriott Riverwalk, Alamo Ballroom Salon B
Hosted By: International Association for Feminist Economics
  • Chair: Lee Badgett, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

The Relationship between Emergency Contraceptive Pill Access, Abortion Access, and Teen Fertility and Education: Evidence from 2006 and 2009 FDA Rulings

Catherine Falvey
,
American University

Abstract

Policies governing contraceptives are important to explore as abortion access becomes more limited. I study the effects of emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) access and how it interacts with abortion access. I am interested in how a person’s reproductive choices shift as an alternative option (ECPs) becomes available and when there is heterogeneity in access to a substitute (abortion). The FDA approved the first ECP in 1998. They were approved for over-the-counter purchase to women 18 and older in 2006, expanding to 17-year-olds in 2009. This paper investigates how these policies impact teen births and educational attainment. I contribute to the literature by expanding to outcomes that are downstream to the outcomes previously studied like sexual behavior and abortions. I start with a base difference in differences model and then study the dynamic effects using an event study analysis. Both models indicate that the policies decrease teen birth rates by 15-21 percent for women above the age limit, although the effect is slightly larger for the 2009 policy. The effect is larger for black women (35 percent). Preliminary findings suggest that the policies lead to increases in educational attainment. Abortion access will be incorporated into the model as a mediator. I intend to capture the effect of multiple restrictions and costs impacting abortion access through a novel measure created using principal component analysis. The initial results suggest that over-the-counter access to ECPs can have a positive impact on downstream outcomes. This is particularly significant in the current debate around reproductive health policies. Emergency contraceptives are being discussed by politicians and access in some states might be in jeopardy. This work, in combination with the abundance of evidence that abortion access is pertinent to women’s health and economic well-being, demonstrates the importance of allowing autonomy over a person’s own medical decisions.

Doing More Harm than Good? Consequences of Paid Maternity Leave Extension Policy in India

Shatakshi Gupta
,
George Washington University

Abstract

Can maternity leaves decrease female employment? Amid a recent spark in the global debate, India decided to amend its existing policy on paid maternity leaves and doubled the leaves for mothers. But in this seemingly progressive and generous leave extension, are there unintended harmful consequences on female labour market? Previous research finds widely contrasting impacts of maternal leave policies on gendered labor outcomes, primarily on account of varying policy structure, underlying labor market dynamics, firm's ability to transfer additional costs of the paid leaves, social norms defining gender roles in a country. In this study, I examine the impact of India’s 2017 maternity leave legislation on gendered labor market outcomes. The empirical methodology utilizes two-fold analysis to determine the effect of the policy, first by using a firm-level employment data to measure substitution of employment between genders when comparing treated-untreated firms. Then, I use an individual-level panel data to measure the impact to female employment across varying degree of exposure to the policy. I find that the policy leads to substitution of female employees by male counterparts by 1-2 percent points in treated firms, and large declines of female employed in highly exposed industries. This indicates that the policy worsened labour outcomes for the female gender, and provides evidence of a maternity policy fuelling gender differences, when implemented in the absence of an equivalent leave for fathers.

Employer Subsidies of Abortion Costs: A Political Economy Framework

Annie McGrew
,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Yana Rodgers
,
Rutgers University

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual framework around the political economy of firm incentives to subsidize abortion costs in the wake of the reversal of Roe v. Wade in the United States. The framework posits that companies are less altruistic than they appear when announcing they will protect the reproductive rights of their women workers. Because motherhood imposes costs on employers, firms have an incentive to support their female employees’ access to abortion. These subsidies complement firm support for assisted reproductive services (IVF, egg freezing, and surrogacy) that help women delay childbearing and help firms lower their turnover costs. However, the existing system of stratified reproduction suggests that low-wage workers may become 'trapped' at companies that offer reproductive services. To enhance reproductive agency for all women, regardless of income level, the public sector must implement policies which subsidize childbearing and increase access to reproductive control technologies.

Did the Pandemic Reverse the Fertility Decline in High-Income Countries? Evidence from Spain

Libertad González
,
Pompeu Fabra University and Barcelona School of Economics
Sofia Trommlerová
,
Comenius University

Abstract

We document the evolution of conceptions, abortions, and births, during and after the pandemic in Spain, using high-quality administrative data. We find, first, a sharp drop in conceptions during the Spring 2020 hard lockdown (followed by a decline in abortions and births in the following months). We present evidence consistent with part of the decline coming from the reduction in social interactions, while some was likely due to public health concerns and economic uncertainty. The results also suggest an important contribution of the closure of IVF clinics during the lockdown. Second, since the summer of 2020 (after the first lockdown) and until the most recent data available, we document a significant increase in conceptions among native women (somewhat hidden in the aggregate because of a decline among foreigners, possibly related to unusual patterns in migration inflows and outflows during the pandemic). We quantify the magnitude of this increase, including a sensitivity analysis considering different ways of constructing the counterfactual trend, and show that it is more than just catch-up. We then explore the potential sources of this reversal of the pre-existing negative trend in fertility.

Discussant(s)
Melanie Long
,
College of Wooster
Mieke Meurs
,
American University
JEL Classifications
  • J1 - Demographic Economics
  • I1 - Health