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Persuasion: A Case Study of Papal Influences on Fertility-Related Beliefs and Behavior

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  • Rasul, Imran
  • Bassi, Vittorio

Abstract

We study the persuasive impacts of non-informative communication on the short-run beliefs and long-run behavior of individuals. We do so in the context of the Papal visit to Brazil in October 1991, in which persuasive messages related to fertility were salient in Papal speeches during the visit. We use individual's exposure to such messages to measure how persuasion shifts: (i) short-run beliefs such as intentions to contracept; (ii) long-term fertility outcomes, such as the timing and total number of births. To measure the short run causal impact of persuasion, we exploit the fact the Brazil 1991 DHS was fielded in the weeks before, during and after the Papal visit. We use this fortuitous timing to identify that persuasion significantly reduced individual intentions to contracept by more than 40% relative to pre-visit levels, and increased the frequency of unprotected sex by 26%. We measure the long-run causal impacts of persuasion on fertility outcomes using later DHS surveys to conduct an event study analysis on births in a five year window either side of the 1991 Papal visit. Estimating a hazard model of fertility, we find a significant change in births nine months post-visit, corresponding to a 1.6% increase in the aggregate birth cohort. Our final set of results examine the very long run impact of persuasion and document the impacts to be on the timing of births rather than on total fertility.

Suggested Citation

  • Rasul, Imran & Bassi, Vittorio, 2016. "Persuasion: A Case Study of Papal Influences on Fertility-Related Beliefs and Behavior," CEPR Discussion Papers 11698, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11698
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • N36 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Latin America; Caribbean
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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