Birthing a Nation: The Effect of Fertility Control Access on the Nineteenth-Century Demographic Transition

Joanna Lahey

The Journal of Economic History, 2014, vol. 74, issue 2, 482-508

Abstract: During the nineteenth century, the U.S. birthrate fell by half. While previous economic literature has emphasized demand-side explanations for this decline, many of these arguments are confounded by changes in the supply of technologies to control fertility. I exploit the introduction of state laws governing American women's access to abortion to measure the effect of changes in the supply of fertility technologies on the number of children born. I estimate an increase in the birthrate of 4 to 15 percent when abortion is restricted. I also explore the legal characteristics and political economy of these laws.

Date: 2014
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