Media Influences on Social Outcomes: The Impact of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant on Teen Childbearing
研究了MTV真人秀《16岁怀孕》的播出如何影响青少年生育率，发现该节目导致青少年生育率下降4.3%，并增加了对避孕和堕胎的关注。
This paper explores the impact of the introduction of the widely viewed MTV reality show 16 and Pregnant on teen childbearing. Our main analysis relates geographic variation in changes in teen childbearing rates to viewership of the show. We implement an instrumental variables (IV ) strategy using local area MTV ratings data from a pre-period to predict local area 16 and Pregnant ratings. The results imply that this show led to a 4.3 percent reduction in teen births. An examination of Google Trends and Twitter data suggest that the show led to increased interest in contraceptive use and abortion.