title: State abortion rates. The impact of policies, providers, politics, demographics, and economic environment.
abstract: This paper uses data on abortion rates by state from 1974-1988 to estimate two-stage least squares models with fixed state and year effects. Restrictions on Medicaid funding for abortion are correlated with lower abortion rates in-state and higher rates among nearby states. A maximal estimate suggests that 19-25% of the abortions among low-income women that are publicly funded do not take place after funding is eliminated. Parental notification laws for teen abortions do not significantly affect aggregate abortion rates. A larger number of abortion providers in a state increases the abortion rate, primarily through inducing cross-state travel.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. rblank@nwu.edu
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Blank
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: London
mesh_terms: D000029:Abortion, Legal / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000385:Aid to Families with Dependent Children / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D008484:Medicaid / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011057:Politics; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011640:Public Policy; D013221:State Health Plans / Q000191:economics; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology