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  4. January 2021
  5. Older Yet Fairer: How Extended Reproductive Time Horizons Reshaped Marriage Patterns in Israel

Older Yet Fairer: How Extended Reproductive Time Horizons Reshaped Marriage Patterns in Israel

  • Naomi Gershoni
  • Corinne Low
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 13, no. 1, January 2021
(pp. 198-234)
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Abstract

Israel's 1994 adoption of free in vitro fertilization (IVF) provides a natural experiment for how fertility time horizons impact women's marriage timing and other outcomes. We find a substantial increase in average age at first marriage following the policy change, using both men and Arab-Israeli women as comparison groups. This shift appears to be driven by both increased marriages by older women and younger women delaying marriage. Age at first birth also increased. Placebo and robustness checks help pinpoint IVF as the source of the change. Our findings suggest age-limited fertility materially impacts women's life timing and outcomes relative to men.

Citation

Gershoni, Naomi, and Corinne Low. 2021. "Older Yet Fairer: How Extended Reproductive Time Horizons Reshaped Marriage Patterns in Israel." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 13 (1): 198-234. DOI: 10.1257/app.20180780

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
  • J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
  • J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
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