Long-run and Multigenerational Impact of Legal Abortion in the US [Job Market Paper]

Abstract

Previous research has shown legalization of abortion in the U.S. during 1969-1973 led to significant improvements in the health, educational, and economic outcomes of women directly affected by this policy. In this study, I analyze how children born to these women and exposed to abortion legalization, fare in life, particularly in terms of lifecycle health. I leverage the state-level variation in changes to abortion laws predating Roe v. Wade as well as the changes brought about by Roe v. Wade and implement difference-in-difference and event study techniques on data from restricted-use administrative microdata on births and deaths in the US. I find evidence that the likelihood of cohorts conceived under legal abortion surviving improves throughout the life course, though the magnitude varies somewhat depending on age and specification. The emerging landscape of abortion policies necessitates analyzing the far-reaching implications of abortion accessibility in the U.S., and my paper contributes to this dialogue by providing causal evidence.