Effects of Restrictive Abortion Legislation on Cohort Mortality Evidence from 19th Century Law Variation / Joanna N. Lahey, Marianne H. Wanamaker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lahey, Joanna N.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Wanamaker, Marianne H.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w30201.

NBER working paper series no. w30201

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2022.

Summary:

Recent studies based on 20th century US data conclude that abortion access raises children's average socioeconomic outcomes. We generalize a model of fertility, highlighting assumptions under which these abortion predictions can be reversed. Using 19th century abortion restrictions, we empirically demonstrate these points. Despite a more than 5 percent increase in birth rates among abortion-restricted cohorts, we find little evidence of negative selection at birth. Longevity was affected nevertheless; in the first ten years of life, children in these larger cohorts died of infectious disease more frequently. These mortality effects diminish with age, potentially reversing at older ages as a result of disease immunity or other offsetting factors.

Notes:

Print version record

July 2022.