Does Contraceptive Use Facilitate Women’s Economic Empowerment? Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso

Carolina Cardona, Johns Hopkins University
Elizabeth A. Gummerson, Princeton University
Mahesh Karra, Boston University
Philip A. Anglewicz, Johns Hopkins University

Modern contraceptives are a technology that allows women and families to plan childbearing and future career opportunities. While it is hypothesized that contraceptive use can facilitate women’s economic empowerment, establishing a causal relationship remains challenging due to the complex interplay and potential reverse causality between these variables. We examine the role of a woman’s decision to use contraception as a driver of future economic empowerment using longitudinal data collected in 2019-2020 from Congolese, Kenyan, Nigerian, and Burkinabe women of reproductive age. Implementing an instrumental variable approach, we find that the use of any contraceptive method had a positive effect on the level of household decision-making in Kenya and Nigeria (1.7 percentage point (p.p.) and 4.1 p.p. difference) and a positive effect on the level of financial autonomy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (5.3 p.p.), Kenya (2.4 p.p.), and Burkina Faso (3.2 p.p.) when compared to nonusers of contraception.