Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP18013
Authors: Sonia Bhalotra; Damian Clarke; Joseph Flavian Gomes; Atheendar Venkataramani
Abstract: We show that large declines in maternal mortality can be achieved by raising women’s political voice. Using an event study approach, we show that the arrival of first antibiotics (sulfa drugs) in the U.S. in 1937, which were effective in treating peripartum bacterial infections, led to larger reductions in maternal mortality in states that extended suffrage to women prior to the 19th Constitutional Amendment of 1920, a national mandate that extended the franchise to all women. These findings suggest important complementarities between women's voice in politics and health-improving technologies. In terms of mechanisms, we argue that earlier suffrage and the longer history of women's political participation arising from it may have laid the groundwork for greater acceptability and quicker uptake of technologies that improved women's health. We also show that earlier suffrage led to a higher likelihood of women holding Senate seats, consistent with a channel where suffrage shaped policymaking through women leaders.
Keywords: maternal mortality; women's political representation; gender; suffrage; sulfa
JEL Codes: I14; I15; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| women's political voice (D72) | maternal mortality rates (J13) |
| introduction of sulfa drugs (B17) | maternal mortality rates (J13) |
| early suffrage states (N91) | maternal mortality rates (J13) |
| women's political voice (D72) | access to medical technologies for maternal health (I14) |
| women holding senate seats (J16) | women's political voice (D72) |
| women's political voice (D72) | maternal mortality rates (specific) (J16) |