Behind‐the‐Counter, but Over‐the‐Border? The Assessment of the Geographical Spillover Effects of Emergency Contraception on Abortions
研究华盛顿州放宽紧急避孕药处方要求后，该州及邻近州堕胎率的变化，发现药房可及性提高与堕胎率适度下降相关，且存在局部溢出效应。
Washington was the first state to ease the prescription requirements making emergency contraception (EC) available behind-the-counter at pharmacies to women of any age in 1998. Using county-level vital statistics data in conjunction with the pharmacy specific location data from the Not-2-Late Hotline database, I study whether the increased access to EC affects fertility rates within the state and beyond the borders of the state that allows it. Unlike other studies that rely on geographic variations in access, I show that increased availability of EC in Washington, measured by the distance to the closest 'no-prescription EC pharmacy', is associated with a statistically significant albeit economically moderate decrease in abortion rates in Washington counties where women had access to 'no-prescription EC'. These effects are localized (i.e., decrease with travel distance) and robust in a number of specifications. Finally, I find some evidence in support of geographical spillover effects in Idaho, but not in Oregon. However, after accounting for the availability of abortion services, the decrease in 'treated' Idaho counties is rather small. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.