The Economics Department seminar will feature Joanna Venator from Boston College, who will present her paper, “Reproductive Policy Shocks and Defensive Investments in Contraception.”
Abstract:
Do policies that restrict abortion access impact contraceptive choices? We use Planned Parenthood data in a difference-in-difference design to show that both realized and expected restrictions increase take-up of more effective contraception. We then estimate a dynamic model of contraceptive choice in which women trade off efficacy against monetary costs and preferences for method attributes. Restrictive policies induce women to upweight efficacy relative to other characteristics. Eliminating abortion access and insurance coverage for contraception reduces realized lifetime utility for 57% of women with an average loss of $2,080, while providing free abortion and contraception increases utility for 85% of women.
