Does Getting Health Insurance Affect Women's Fertility? Evidence from the United Mine Workers' Health Insurance

Erin Troland and Theodore Figinski

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2019, vol. 109, 511-15

Abstract: Does health insurance affect fertility decisions? Fertility may increase if insurance lowers the costs of having a child. Fertility may decrease if children are more likely to survive into adulthood (quality-quantity tradeoff). We study a largely permanent United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) insurance program. A large group of women of childbearing age gained pregnancy coverage for the first time. The insurance also covered children. We use a trend break specification with county-level variation in insurance. We find new evidence of the quality-quantity tradeoff. Fertility rates declined by about one percent per year in counties with average levels of insurance.

JEL-codes: G22 I12 I13 J13 J16 J51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20191094
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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