Maternal Mortality and Women's Political Voice: Historical Evidence from the U.S

Sonia Bhalotra (), Damian Clarke, Joseph Gomes and Atheendar Venkataramani ()
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Sonia Bhalotra: University of Warwick
Atheendar Venkataramani: University of Pennsylvania

No 2023008, LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES from Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

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 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I14 I15 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-03-20
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-hea and nep-his
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Working Paper: Maternal Mortality and Women's Political Voice: Historical Evidence from the U.S (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvir:2023008

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