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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · 8d

No reason to think Texas is unique. But we're getting the data to directly test this question soon. Stay tuned!

Reposted by Caitlin Myers

Shefali Luthra @shefali.bsky.social · 24d

Fascinating new research from @caitlinmyers.bsky.social and others shows that when laws restrict abortion, we see a jump in property crimes such as car theft, burglary.

It underscores how financially destabilizing unplanned pregnancy can be — and how ill-equipped our safety net is to address it.

When abortion access shrinks, property crime rises, new research finds

Researchers found a “strikingly large” relationship between restrictions on abortion and property crime, underscoring the connection between abortion bans and poverty.

19thnews.org

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · 25d

@oaldridge.bsky.social @npr.org covered our new paper on the surprisingly large effects of abortion access on crime. Totally agree with Jonathan Gruber: we've got to follow this up and see if it replicates outside of Texas. On it!

(with @erdaltekin.bsky.social , Erkmen Aslim, Wei Fu, and Ben Xue)

'Natural experiment' in Texas shows property crime went up when abortion access fell

A working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research finds property crime went up in Texas after a 2013 law closed half the state's clinics that provide abortion.

www.npr.org

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · 25d

Takeaway: When abortion access is restricted, the consequences extend past fertility—into labor markets, family finances, and property crime.

Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · 25d

Findings:

- Abortions ↓, births ↑

- Labor force participation ↓

- Debt burdens ↑

- Income inequality ↑

- Housing insecurity ↑

- Property crime ↑ (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft)

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · 25d

We exploit a natural experiment: clinic closures in Texas after HB-2 (2013) that sharply increased travel distances to the nearest abortion provider.

This lets us study how access shocks affect reproductive behavior, household economic well-being, and public safety.

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · 25d

Excited to share our new paper on abortion, economic hardship, and crime (with Erkmen Aslim, Wei Fu, @erdaltekin.bsky.social , and Ben Xue).

We study how abortion access affects economic hardship and crime in Texas using clinic closures after HB-2.

www.nber.org/papers/w34245

Abortion, Economic Hardship, and Crime

Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

www.nber.org

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Aug 8

Any economists out there who might be interested in writing about choosing a childfree life? I'm editing an upcoming CSWEP newsletter on fertility choices and hoping to include this perspective. Shoot me a message if you might be my person!

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Apr 22

And I'm going to shamelessly present my very first Sankey diagram (showing flows of OBGYNS between states). Thanks to the awesome bsky.app/profile/asja... for the Stata Sankey package used to make it!

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Apr 22

Find the paper here jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Obstetrician and Gynecologist Practice Locations Before and After Dobbs Decision

This cohort study examines changes in obstetrician and gynecologist practice locations before vs after the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization US Supreme Court decision.

jamanetwork.com

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Apr 22

Excellent coverage of our new paper out today @jama network open. Joint with Becky Staiger, @vbolotnyy.bsky.social, Sonya Borrero, @maya-rossin-slater.bsky.social, Jessica Van Parys.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/22/h...

Ob/gyns in states with abortion bans face risks, but new study shows that most stayed after Dobbs | CNN

Doctors across the United States who provide obstetrics and gynecology care have been confronted with new restrictions and uncertainties – and sometimes significant legal risks – that continue to unfo...

www.cnn.com

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Apr 10

If you're curious about how the economists' amicus brief in Dobbs came to be.... Thanks to @grouchybagels.bsky.social @rooseveltinstitute.org for a great interview!

www.firesidestacks.com/p/abortion-a...

Abortion and Economic Policy, Part II: “The Key Economic Decision Many Women Will Make in Their Lifetimes”

One of the key arguments the state of Mississippi presented to the court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case was that there was no reliable way to study the impact that the Roe v....

www.firesidestacks.com

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Reposted by Caitlin Myers

Society of Family Planning @societyfp.bsky.social · Mar 28

Society members @caitlinmyers.bsky.social; Suzanne Bell, PhD, MPH; Diana Foster, PhD; and Alison Norris, MD, PhD contributed their expertise to a NY Times article spotlighting new research from Dr. Myers and Society Changemaker Mayra Pineda-Torres, PhD.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/u...

The Women Most Affected by Abortion Bans

After the Dobbs decision, births rose in states with bans, but more for some women than others.

www.nytimes.com

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

Coverage of our new @nber.org working paper @upshot.nytimes.com @sangerkatz.bsky.social. Really appreciate the perspectives of the various folks they interviewed.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/u...

The Women Most Affected by Abortion Bans

After the Dobbs decision, births rose in states with bans, but more for some women than others.

www.nytimes.com

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

It's taken years to collect these data. More than 40 research assistants called every abortion facility in the country for appointment availability information...repeatedly. Gratitude to these hard-working students and to the Society of Family Planning for funding the data collection. [10/10]

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

The effects of bans don't appear to decrease after shield laws came online and expanded telehealth access. One explanation is that people substitute from driving to telehealth abortion. The populations who are “trapped” by distance might not be reached by shield law provision. [9/10]

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

Black and Hispanic women, unmarried women, and less educated women are the most affected by abortion bans. [8/10]

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

We throw fancier models at the data and essentially see the same thing: distance and appointment availability mediate the effects of abortion bans. [7/10]

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

Within ban states, births increased the most where distances increased the most. The effects were additionally mediated by appointment availability in the destination. [6/10]

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

We use a county-level analysis to learn who is most affected by the bans. Texas’ ban left Houstonians with a 600-mile drive to Kansas, where appointment availability was constrained. But residents of El Paso had less than 30 miles to drive to New Mexico, where appointments were available. [5/10]

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

These abortion numbers don't capture abortion pills being mailed into these states. With incomplete abortion surveillance, we turn to births and see a corresponding pattern, suggesting that everyone who wanted an abortion was not finding a way to get one. [4/10]

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

We use estimates of state resident abortions from @imaddowzimet.bsky.social to show that the national rise in abortions is driven by increases in abortions in states where abortion access expanded after Dobbs. Meanwhile, resident abortions fell in states that restricted access. [3/10]

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

Despite post-Dobbs bans, abortions actually increased 11% in 2023. Do abortion bans actually stop anyone from getting abortions? [2/10] www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/desp...

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Caitlin Myers @caitlinmyers.bsky.social · Mar 17

The effects of abortion bans vary tremendously across counties and demographic groups. New @nber.org working paper with Daniel Dench and @mayrapinedat.bsky.social. [1/10] www.nber.org/papers/w33548

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Reposted by Caitlin Myers

David Slusky @davidslusky.bsky.social · Feb 12

New @econofact.bsky.social memo from @springerecon.bsky.social and me econofact.org/what-effects.... Cites lots of great work from @caitlinmyers.bsky.social @danieldench1.bsky.social @jasonlindo.bsky.social & more!

What Effects Has Repealing Roe v. Wade Had So Far? | Econofact

New research is finding evidence that differences in abortion access are contributing to diverging outcomes for women, infants, and families across states.

econofact.org

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