The power of time: The impact of free IVF on Women's human capital investments

Naomi Gershoni; Corinne Low

doi:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2020.103645

The power of time: The impact of free IVF on Women's human capital investments

Naomi Gershoni, Corinne Low

Department of Economics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Women's time-limited fertility window, compared to men's longer period of fecundity, could be a key constraint in shaping the gender gap in career choices and hence outcomes. Israel's 1994 policy change that made in-vitro fertilization free provides a natural experiment for examining how fertility time horizons impact women's investment choices. We find that following the policy change women complete more college and graduate education. We then present evidence suggesting that these larger investments contributed to better labor market outcomes, reducing the gender gap in career achievement. This further implies that persistent labor market inequality may be partly rooted in biological asymmetries.

Original language	English
Article number	103645
Journal	European Economic Review
Volume	133
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2020.103645
State	Published - 1 Apr 2021

Keywords

Assisted reproductive technology
Career choice
Fecundity
Gender gap
Human capital

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Finance
Economics and Econometrics

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.euroecorev.2020.103645

Cite this

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abstract = "Women's time-limited fertility window, compared to men's longer period of fecundity, could be a key constraint in shaping the gender gap in career choices and hence outcomes. Israel's 1994 policy change that made in-vitro fertilization free provides a natural experiment for examining how fertility time horizons impact women's investment choices. We find that following the policy change women complete more college and graduate education. We then present evidence suggesting that these larger investments contributed to better labor market outcomes, reducing the gender gap in career achievement. This further implies that persistent labor market inequality may be partly rooted in biological asymmetries.",

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The power of time: The impact of free IVF on Women's human capital investments

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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