Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection: Evidence from Nepal

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Valente, Christine y
• 署名单位: University of Bristol
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2013.12.002
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 225-243
• 关键词: Abortion; fertility; Neonatal health; sex-selection; Nepal

摘要

I combine fertility histories from the 2006 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey with a census of newly introduced legal abortion centers to estimate the impact of reducing the cost of abortion on pregnancy outcomes, gender, and neonatal health. Contrary to previous studies, I identify the within-mother, behavioral response to improved access to abortion by comparing siblings conceived before and after the opening of an abortion center nearby. Closeness to a legal abortion center decreases the probability of a birth but has no discernible effect on observable investments in neonatal health and does not lead to more sex-selection. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.