1. The Power of the Pill: Oral Contraceptives and Women’s Career and Marriage Decisions Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F Katz Presented by Jennifer Windh

2. Background Birth Control Pill approved by FDA in 1960 Removed penalties of abstinence and uncertainty about pregnancy, thereby decreasing the costs of investing in human capital for women Analyzes effect on age of first marriage and career choices Proposes a natural experiment is created by differential changes in single women’s access to pill across states

3. The Pill and Single Women: Diffusion of the Pill among Single Women Pill rapidly adopted by married women; legal and social barriers blocked single women’s access Late 60’s – early 70’s: age of majority lowered and mature minor laws adopted Data is very limited on this topic Laws were not necessarily perfectly enforced Decision to focus on college graduate women

4. The Pill and Single Women: Diffusion of the Pill among Single Women

5. The Pill and Single Women: State Variation in Laws Affecting Contraceptive Services Age of majority lowered Mature minor laws Family Planning available without parental consent University health services tended to conform to state laws

6. The Pill and Single Women: The Impact of State Laws on Pill Use

7. The Effect of the Pill on Marriage and Career Direct Effect: reduce cost of marriage delay and career investment Indirect Effect: lower cost of career investment through “thickening” of marriage market Rest: better marriage matches –Women’s marriage desirability as a function of “nurturing” and career –Preferences not fully formed until older

8. The Effect of the Pill on Marriage and Career

9. Evidence for the Power of the Pill: Time Series – Career Investment

10. Evidence for the Power of the Pill: Time Series – Age at First Marriage

11. Evidence for the Power of the Pill: Formal Analyses – Age at First Marriage & State Law Changes

12. Evidence for the Power of the Pill: Formal Analyses – Career and Marital Status Outcomes

13. Alternative Explanations Abortion Reform; Availability of other methods of birth control Resurgence in feminism Anti-discrimination legislation Advancement and affordability of home production technology Sex-ratio changes End of draft deferments for graduate students