Birth Control and Female Empowerment: An Equilibrium Analysis
从理论角度分析生育控制技术革新如何影响家庭内部资源分配，发现更有效的技术通常能提升所有女性的权力和福利，但仅限已婚女性使用时可能产生反效果。
We analyze, from a theoretical perspective, the impact of innovations in birth control technology on intrahousehold allocation of resources. We consider a model of frictionless matching on the marriage market in which men, as well as women, differ in their preferences for children; moreover, men, unlike women, must many to enjoy fatherhood. We show that more efficient birth control technologies generally increase the "power," hence the welfare, of all women, including those who do not use them. This "empowerment" effect requires that the new technology be available to single women. An innovation reserved to married women may result in a "disempowerment" effect. © 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.