Working Paper: NBER ID: w19493
Authors: Martha J. Bailey
Abstract: This paper assembles new evidence on some of the longer-term consequences of U.S. family planning policies, defined in this paper as those increasing legal or financial access to modern contraceptives. The analysis leverages two large policy changes that occurred during the 1960s and 1970s: first, the interaction of the birth control pill's introduction with Comstock-era restrictions on the sale of contraceptives and the repeal of these laws after Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965; and second, the expansion of federal funding for local family planning programs from 1964 to 1973. Building on previous research that demonstrates both policies' effects on fertility rates, I find suggestive evidence that individuals' access to contraceptives increased their children's college completion, labor force participation, wages, and family incomes decades later.
Keywords: Family Planning; Contraception; Economic Outcomes; Child Development; Public Policy
JEL Codes: I18; J1; J13; J16; J24; N12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Increased access to contraceptives through family planning policies (J13) | Higher family income among affected cohorts in adulthood (I24) |
| Increased access to contraceptives through family planning policies (J13) | Increased men's wage earnings and labor force participation (J39) |
| Access to family planning (J13) | Increased children's educational attainment (I24) |
| Increased access to contraceptives (J13) | Greater parental investment in children's education (I24) |