Evaluating the Mexico city policy: How US foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in Ghana
US development assistance represents a significant source of funding for many population programs in poor countries. The Mexico City policy, known derisively as the global gag rule, restricts activities of foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive such assistance. The intent of the p...
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| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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International Food Policy Research Institute
2011
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| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154356 |
| _version_ | 1855516436327301120 |
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| author | Jones, Kelly M. |
| author_browse | Jones, Kelly M. |
| author_facet | Jones, Kelly M. |
| author_sort | Jones, Kelly M. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | US development assistance represents a significant source of funding for many population programs in poor countries. The Mexico City policy, known derisively as the global gag rule, restricts activities of foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive such assistance. The intent of the policy is to reduce the use of abortion in developing countries—a policy that is born entirely of US domestic politics and that turns on and off depending on the political party in power. I examine here whether the policy achieves its aim, and how the policy affects reproductive outcomes for women in Ghana.Employing a woman-by-month panel of pregnancies and woman fixed effects, I estimate whether a given woman is less likely to abort a pregnancy during two policy periods versus two nonpolicy periods. I find no evidence that any demographic group reduces the use of abortion as a result of the policy. On the contrary, rural women significantly increase abortions. This effect seems to arise from their increased rate of conception during these times. The policy-induced budget shortfalls reportedly forced NGOs to cut rural outreach services, reducing the availability of contraceptives in rural areas. The lack of contraceptives likely caused the observed 12 percent increase in rural pregnancies, ultimately resulting in about 200,000 additional abortions and between 500,000 and 750,000 additional unintended births. I find that these additional unwanted children have significantly reduced height and weight for age, relative to their siblings.Rather than reducing abortion, this policy increased pregnancy, abortion, and unintended births, resulting in more than a half-million children of significantly reduced nutritional status. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace154356 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| publishDateRange | 2011 |
| publishDateSort | 2011 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1543562025-11-06T05:21:04Z Evaluating the Mexico city policy: How US foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in Ghana Jones, Kelly M. abortion child health fertility foreign investment gender US development assistance represents a significant source of funding for many population programs in poor countries. The Mexico City policy, known derisively as the global gag rule, restricts activities of foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that receive such assistance. The intent of the policy is to reduce the use of abortion in developing countries—a policy that is born entirely of US domestic politics and that turns on and off depending on the political party in power. I examine here whether the policy achieves its aim, and how the policy affects reproductive outcomes for women in Ghana.Employing a woman-by-month panel of pregnancies and woman fixed effects, I estimate whether a given woman is less likely to abort a pregnancy during two policy periods versus two nonpolicy periods. I find no evidence that any demographic group reduces the use of abortion as a result of the policy. On the contrary, rural women significantly increase abortions. This effect seems to arise from their increased rate of conception during these times. The policy-induced budget shortfalls reportedly forced NGOs to cut rural outreach services, reducing the availability of contraceptives in rural areas. The lack of contraceptives likely caused the observed 12 percent increase in rural pregnancies, ultimately resulting in about 200,000 additional abortions and between 500,000 and 750,000 additional unintended births. I find that these additional unwanted children have significantly reduced height and weight for age, relative to their siblings.Rather than reducing abortion, this policy increased pregnancy, abortion, and unintended births, resulting in more than a half-million children of significantly reduced nutritional status. 2011 2024-10-01T14:01:03Z 2024-10-01T14:01:03Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154356 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161897 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/161826 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160391 https://doi.org/10.1086/682981 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Jones, Kelly M. 2011. Evaluating the Mexico city policy: How US foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in Ghana. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1147. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154356 |
| spellingShingle | abortion child health fertility foreign investment gender Jones, Kelly M. Evaluating the Mexico city policy: How US foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in Ghana |
| title | Evaluating the Mexico city policy: How US foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in Ghana |
| title_full | Evaluating the Mexico city policy: How US foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in Ghana |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the Mexico city policy: How US foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the Mexico city policy: How US foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in Ghana |
| title_short | Evaluating the Mexico city policy: How US foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in Ghana |
| title_sort | evaluating the mexico city policy how us foreign policy affects fertility outcomes and child health in ghana |
| topic | abortion child health fertility foreign investment gender |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154356 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT joneskellym evaluatingthemexicocitypolicyhowusforeignpolicyaffectsfertilityoutcomesandchildhealthinghana |