Improved Access to Abortion, Neonatal Mortality, and Gender Bias: Evidence from Nepal.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Economics
Abstract
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Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Christine Valente (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Miller G
(2016)
Population Policy: Abortion and Modern Contraception Are Substitutes.
in Demography
Valente C
(2014)
Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection: Evidence from Nepal
in Journal of Development Economics
Valente C
(2015)
Civil conflict, gender-specific fetal loss, and selection: a new test of the Trivers-Willard hypothesis.
in Journal of health economics
| Description | The first key contribution of this research concerns the widely accepted economic theory that parents face a trade-off between the number of children they have, and the amount of resources they dedicate to each of their children. In this context, the finding that legal abortion centres in Nepal do not affect parental investments in neonatal health despite contributing to reducing fertility is striking and contributes to gathering momentum for the rethinking of the way economists understand decisions related to fertility and investments in the health and education of children, adding to recent work by, e.g., Black, Devereux and Salvanes (Quarterly Journal of Economics , 2005) and Angrist, Lavy and Schlosser (Journal of Labor Economics, 2010). The second key contribution pertains to the growing but still scant body of knowledge concerned with the rising phenomenon of sex-selective abortions. The finding that improved access to first-trimester abortion in Nepal did not contribute to skewing sex ratios is an important one in this context. Indeed, this finding has highlighted a new potential theoretical mechanism through which improved access to gender-blind abortion might in fact reduce sex-selective abortions for parents who do not have a marked preference for aborting a female or a male fetus. First, the research indicates that legal abortion centres in Nepal did not affect parental investments in neonatal health despite contributing to reducing fertility, which goes against received wisdom in economics. As such, it contributes to gathering momentum for the rethinking of the way economists understand decisions related to fertility and investments in the health and education of children. Second, I find that improved access to first-trimester abortion in Nepal did not contribute to skewing sex ratios. This finding has highlighted a new potential theoretical mechanism through which improved access to gender-blind abortion might in fact reduce sex-selective abortions for parents who do not have a marked preference for aborting a female or a male fetus. |
| Exploitation Route | Other researchers in Economics and related fields might build upon this work to understand further how households make decisions regarding investments in neonatal health and sex-selective abortions. From society's perspective, the findings of this research had an impact on stakeholders from the NGO sector, Nepalese government, and international organisations present at the dissemination workshop which took place in Kathmandu in September 2010, and through them to their respective institutions. Participants at the dissemination workshop include representatives of: the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Nepalese Ministry of Health, the German Department for International Development (GTZ), the Family Planning Association of Nepal, IPAS, PSI, and the Center for Reproductive, Environmental, and Population Activities. All these actors are involved in population policy in Nepal, and some too outside Nepal. They were very eager to obtain information on the broader effect of the day-to-day activities of their respective organisations, which they did through this dissemination exercise. |
| Sectors | Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | The findings of this research had an impact on stakeholders from the NGO sector, Nepalese government, and international organisations present at the dissemination workshop which took place in Kathmandu in September 2010, and through them to their respective institutions. Participants at the dissemination workshop include representatives of: the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Nepalese Ministry of Health, the German Department for International Development (GTZ), the Family Planning Association of Nepal, IPAS, PSI, and the Center for Reproductive, Environmental, and Population Activities. All these actors are involved in population policy in Nepal, and some too outside Nepal. They were very eager to obtain information on the broader effect of the day-to-day activities of their respective organisations, which they did through this dissemination exercise. |
| Sector | Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Title | Anonymised data from census of legal abortion centres |
| Description | Dates of registration of all Nepalese abortion centres legally approved by July 2006 were obtained from official government records provided by the Ministry of Health, who also provided contact details for each of these 141 facilities. Except for 2 of the 141 facilities, one which could not be reached, and one that did not appear to have ever existed, all were surveyed. A telephonic survey was carried out by the Center for Research on Environmental, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA) to obtain data on the precise location of each centre. The information was then used by the GIS Society of Nepal to map the facilities' GIS coordinates. The survey also collected qualitative data about the centre as a whole, such as determinants of the timing of opening, in order to inform choices made in the quantitative analysis phase. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | I have recently completed a further academic paper based on this database, which I will upload when the working paper version is out. |
| URL | http://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/id/eprint/850538 |
| Description | Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection : evidence from Nepal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection : evidence from Nepal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection : evidence from Nepal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection : evidence from Nepal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection : evidence from Nepal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection : evidence from Nepal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. Discussions with policy makers and stakeholders from civic society about abortion policy in Nepal based on the evidence provided by my research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection : evidence from Nepal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010 |
| Description | Access to abortion, investments in neonatal health, and sex-selection : evidence from Nepal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Children of the revolution : fetal and child health amidst violent civil conflict |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Children of the revolution : fetal and child health amidst violent civil conflict |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Children of the revolution : fetal and child health amidst violent civil conflict |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Children of the revolution : fetal and child health amidst violent civil conflict |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Children of the revolution : fetal and child health amidst violent civil conflict |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Question and discussion during and after the talk. My work was cited by others. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |