The Fertility Reduction Effects of the Colorado Family Planning Initiative by Age and Parity

James Flynn (), Amanda Stevenson (), Sara Yeatman (), Katie Genadek (), Jane Menken (), Stefanie Mollborn () and Leslie Root ()
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James Flynn: Miami University
Amanda Stevenson: University of Colorado Boulder
Sara Yeatman: University of Colorado Denver
Katie Genadek: United States Census Bureau
Jane Menken: University of Colorado Boulder
Stefanie Mollborn: Stockholm University
Leslie Root: University of Colorado Boulder

No 18852, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: We use birth records from the National Vital Statistics System to document the full age and parity fertility effects of the Colorado Family Planning Initiative (CFPI). Prior work has demonstrated effects on fertility at ages 15-29. We estimate the fertility effect of the CFPI for all age groups (15-44) and for first and non-first births using the synthetic control method. We find large and significant reductions in birth rates for 15-24-year-olds that line up with other studies, but we find important heterogeneity across parity. For teenagers, we find reductions in first birth rates of 9%, but larger reductions in non-first birth rates of 17-25%. We also find reductions in overall fertility for 20-24 and 25-29-year-olds, but these are entirely driven by reductions of 5-9% in non-first births. For 30-39-year-olds, we find small but significant reductions in fertility of 3-7% across parity levels, and we find a 6% reduction in fertility for 40-44-year-olds. We also conduct inference using synthetic difference-in-differences (SDID) and placebo-based methods. When we do this, our estimates are similar, though confidence intervals are wider, with specifications on older age groups no longer significant.

Keywords: family planning; long-acting reversible contraception (LARC); fertility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I18 J13 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-08
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