The Power of the Pill:
Oral Contraceptives and Women’s Career and
Marriage Decisions
Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F Katz
Presented by Jennifer Windh
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
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
The Pill and Single Women:
Diffusion of the Pill among Single Women
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
The Pill and Single Women:
The Impact of State Laws on Pill Use
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
The Effect of the Pill on Marriage and Career
Evidence for the Power of the Pill:
Time Series – Career Investment
Evidence for the Power of the Pill:
Time Series – Age at First Marriage
Evidence for the Power of the Pill:
Formal Analyses – Age at First Marriage & State Law Changes
Evidence for the Power of the Pill:
Formal Analyses – Career and Marital Status Outcomes
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