Biography: Dr. Martha J. Bailey is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of California Los Angeles. She is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Her research focuses on issues in labor economics, demography and health in the United States, within the long-run perspective of economic history. Dr. Bailey’s work has examined the implications of the diffusion of modern contraception for women’s childbearing, career decisions, and the convergence in the gender gap.
How Subsidies Affect Contraceptive Use among Low-Income Women in the U.S.: A Randomized Control Trial
This paper examines how subsidies affect the use of contraceptives among low-income women seeking reproductive health care in the U.S. Study participants were randomized to receive vouchers for contraception, covering up to 50% or 100% of the lowest-cost, available long-acting, reversible contraceptive method (LARC). Women’s choice of method is highly sensitive to price, with the elasticity of LARC take-up ranging from -2.3 to -3.4. The findings imply that a U.S. policy eliminating out-of-pocket costs for Title X women would reduce pregnancies by 5.4%, birth rates by 3.5%, and abortions by 8.1% and save $2.48 billion annually in public expenditures.
The complete text may be accessed here.
