Working Paper: NBER ID: w14541
Authors: Mingjen Lin; Nancy Qian; Jintan Liu
Abstract: This paper presents novel empirical evidence on the impact of access to abortion on sex ratios at birth (SRB), excess female mortality (EFM) and fertility in Taiwan. For identification, we exploit plausibly exogenous variation in the availability of sex-selective abortion caused by the legalization of abortion. Our results show that the legalization of abortion accounts for almost all of the observed increase in SRB during the 1980s and decreased EFM by approximately 20%. Approximately ten more female infants survived for every one hundred that were aborted. Interestingly, we find that while abortion reduced overall fertility, it increased fertility for older mothers.
Keywords: Abortion; Sex Ratios; Female Mortality; Taiwan
JEL Codes: J1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Legalization of abortion (J13) | Decreased overall fertility rate (J19) |
| Legalization of abortion (J13) | Increased fertility for older mothers (J13) |
| Increased access to sex-selective abortion (J13) | Population sex imbalance (J11) |
| Increased access to sex-selective abortion (J13) | Relative female survival rates (J19) |
| Legalization of abortion (J13) | Increased fraction of males born (J19) |
| Legalization of abortion (J13) | Decreased excess female mortality (J19) |