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Waves of Change? Radio announcements and fertility decline

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  • Juliana Jaramillo-Echeverri

Abstract

Can radio campaigns affect fertility? This paper examines the impact of a national radio campaign promoting family planning clinics in late 1960s Colombia on the country’s rapid fertility decline. The campaign, initiated by Profamilia in 1969, provided information about the location of clinics without giving detailed contraceptive information. Using data from the full count 1973 census and information on clinic locations and radio programs, the study leverages exogenous variation in radio signal strength to estimate the campaign’s effect on fertility. I follow a difference-in-differences strategy to compare fertility before and after the start of the radio campaign at the individual level. The findings indicate that the radio campaign reduced between 4% to 16% the probability of having a child one year after the campaign. The effects are stronger for women living close to a Profamilia clinic. However, by 1973 motherhood was still almost universal. This research contributes to the understanding of the effects of family planning programs and media exposure on fertility decline, highlighting the role of media in overcoming geographical barriers and driving social change. **** RESUMEN: ¿Pueden las campañas de radio afectar la fecundidad? Este artículo examina el impacto de una campaña de radio que promovía clínicas de planificación familiar, en el descenso de la fecundidad en Colombia. La campaña, iniciada por Profamilia en 1969, proporcionó información sobre la ubicación de las clínicas sin ofrecer información detallada sobre anticonceptivos. Utilizando datos del censo completo de 1973 y la información sobre la ubicación de las clínicas y los programas de radio, este artículo usa la variación exógena en la intensidad de la señal de radio para estimar el efecto de la campaña en la fecundidad. Utilizando una estrategia de diferencia en diferencias se compara la fecundidad antes y después del inicio de la campaña de radio. Los resultado indican que la campaña de radio redujo entre un 4% y un 14% la probabilidad de tener un hijo un año después de la campaña. Los efectos son más fuertes para las mujeres que viven cerca de una clínica de Profamilia. Sin embargo, en 1973 la maternidad seguía siendo casi universal. Esta investigación contribuye a nuestro conocimiento sobre los efectos de los programas de planificación familiar y la exposición a los medios en la disminución de la fecundidad, destacando el papel de los medios en superar las barreras geográficas e impulsar el cambio social.

Suggested Citation

  • Juliana Jaramillo-Echeverri, 2024. "Waves of Change? Radio announcements and fertility decline," Cuadernos de Historia Económica 65, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
  • Handle: RePEc:bdr:cheedt:65
    DOI: 10.32468/chee.65
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility transition; mass media; family planning; Colombia; transición de la fecundidad; medios de comunicación; planificación familiar;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • N36 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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