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Divorce and the Birth Control Pill in the US, 1950–85

Divorce and the Birth Control Pill in the US, 1950–85 This paper explores the relationship between the advent of the birth control pill and divorce rates. Women using the pill can decide when and whether to have children and whether to maintain their attachment to the labor force. This ability may increase women's autonomy, making divorce more feasible. The pill's effects are identified through a quasi-experiment exploiting differences in the language of the Comstock anti-obscenity statutes approved in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the United States. Empirical evidence from state-level data on US divorce rates 1950 to 1985 shows that sales bans of oral contraceptives have a negative impact on divorce. These findings are robust to alternative specifications and controls for observed (such as women's labor force participation) and unobserved state-specific factors, and time-varying factors at the state level. Results suggest that the impact of women's control of hormonal contraception on their autonomy is important in divorce decisions. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Feminist Economics Taylor & Francis

Divorce and the Birth Control Pill in the US, 1950–85

Marcén, Miriam
Feminist Economics , Volume 21 (4): 24 – Oct 2, 2015
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2015 IAFFE
ISSN
1466-4372
eISSN
1354-5701
DOI
10.1080/13545701.2015.1027246
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between the advent of the birth control pill and divorce rates. Women using the pill can decide when and whether to have children and whether to maintain their attachment to the labor force. This ability may increase women's autonomy, making divorce more feasible. The pill's effects are identified through a quasi-experiment exploiting differences in the language of the Comstock anti-obscenity statutes approved in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the United States. Empirical evidence from state-level data on US divorce rates 1950 to 1985 shows that sales bans of oral contraceptives have a negative impact on divorce. These findings are robust to alternative specifications and controls for observed (such as women's labor force participation) and unobserved state-specific factors, and time-varying factors at the state level. Results suggest that the impact of women's control of hormonal contraception on their autonomy is important in divorce decisions.

Journal

Feminist Economics – Taylor & Francis

Published: Oct 2, 2015

Keywords: Divorce rate; birth control pill; sales bans; unilateral divorce; J12; J13; J18

References

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