The Negligible Effect of Free Contraception on Fertility: Experimental Evidence from Burkina Faso

Pascaline Dupas, Seema Jayachandran, Adriana Lleras-Muney and Pauline Rossi

American Economic Review, 2025, vol. 115, issue 8, 2659-88

Abstract: We conducted a randomized trial among 14,545 households in rural Burkina Faso to test the oft-cited hypothesis that limited access to contraception is an important driver of high fertility rates in West Africa. We do not find support for this hypothesis. Women who were given free access to modern contraception for three years did not have lower birth rates; we can reject even modest effects. We cross-randomized additional interventions to address inefficiencies that might depress demand for free contraception, specifically misperceptions about the child mortality rate and social norms. Free contraception did not significantly influence fertility even in combination with these interventions.

JEL-codes: D12 J13 J16 J18 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Working Paper: The Negligible Effect of Free Contraception on Fertility: Experimental Evidence from Burkina Faso (2024)
Working Paper: Negligible Effect of Free Contraception on Fertility: Experimental Evidence from Burkina Faso (2024)
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DOI: 10.1257/aer.20241305

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