ERIC Number: ED671097
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jan
Pages: 84
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
In the Wake of Dobbs: The Effect of State Abortion Bans on Women's College Choices. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1126
Samantha B. Kane
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
This paper studies the impact of state reproductive rights laws on women's human capital decisions after the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization" (2022). Using data from the Common App, the undergraduate college admission application, I implement a difference-in-differences design that compares high-achieving women's college choices to those of their male peers. I find that abortion bans caused a 2.7 percentage point decrease in the proportion of high-achieving women who applied to a school in one of the 13 states with a total ban. Effects were larger for applicants from states without a restriction on abortion, as well as for applicants from the most liberal counties in the United States. Further, treatment effects first emerged in the 2021-22 college application season after several Court actions suggested that it would overturn Roe v. Wade (1973) the following year, increased in magnitude in the 2022-23 college application season, and persisted in the 2023-24 college application season.
Descriptors: Court Litigation, College Applicants, Females, High Achievement, Federal Legislation, Civil Rights, Pregnancy, Decision Making, Undergraduate Students, College Admission, Computer Software, College Choice, Comparative Analysis, Counties, State Legislation, Trend Analysis, Out of State Students, Public Policy
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Russell Sage Foundation
Authoring Institution: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A