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Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection: Evidence from Nepal
Authors: Christine Valente
Source: Journal of Development Economics, 107: 225-243; DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2013.12.002
Topic(s): Abortion
Fertility
Fertility preferences
Gender
Country: Asia
  Nepal
Published: MAR 2014
Abstract: 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.