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Religious Barriers to Birth Control Access

Author

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  • Olivier Marie
  • Esmée Zwiers

Abstract

This paper presents new causal evidence on the “power” of oral contraceptives in shaping women’s lives, leveraging the 1970 liberalization of the Pill for minors in the Netherlands and demand- and supply-side religious preferences that affected Pill take-up. We analyze administrative data to demonstrate that, after Pill liberalization, minors from less conservative areas were more likely to delay fertility/marriage and to accumulate human capital in the long run. We then show how these large effects were eliminated for women facing a higher share of gatekeepers – general practitioners and pharmacists – who were opposed to providing the Pill on religious grounds.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier Marie & Esmée Zwiers, 2025. "Religious Barriers to Birth Control Access," CESifo Working Paper Series 12157, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12157
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    File URL: https://www.ifo.de/DocDL/cesifo1_wp12157.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ashesh Rambachan & Jonathan Roth, 2023. "A More Credible Approach to Parallel Trends," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(5), pages 2555-2591.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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