FIFTY YEARS OF FAMILY PLANNING: NEW EVIDENCE ON THE LONG-RUN EFFECTS OF INCREASING ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION

Martha Bailey

Working Papers from U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Economic Studies

Abstract: This paper assembles new evidence on some of the longer-term consequences of U.S. family planning policies, defined in this paper as those increasing legal or financial access to modern contraceptives. The analysis leverages two large policy changes that occurred during the 1960s and 1970s: first, the interaction of the birth control pill’s introduction with Comstock-era restrictions on the sale of contraceptives and the repeal of these laws after Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965; and second, the expansion of federal funding for local family planning programs from 1964 to 1973. Building on previous research that demonstrates both policies’ effects on fertility rates, I find suggestive evidence that individuals’ access to contraceptives increased their children’s college completion, labor force participation, wages, and family incomes decades later.

JEL-codes: I18 J1 J13 J16 J24 N12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 52 pages
Date: 2014-02
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www2.census.gov/ces/wp/2014/CES-WP-14-15.pdf First version, 2014 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Fifty Years of Family Planning: New Evidence on the Long-Run Effects of Increasing Access to Contraception (2013)
Working Paper: Fifty Years of Family Planning: New Evidence on the Long-Run Effects of Increasing Access to Contraception (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cen:wpaper:14-15

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