Mock Research Proposal Assignment
Victoria Freire
PLCY 805 Policy Analysis and Research Design
March 5, 2023
The majority of the population believes that achieving economic growth should be a top
priority; too many conversations overlook how the complexities of people's lives limit their
capacity to participate in the market fully. The Center for America examined the factors that
influence women's capacity to choose their level and kind of participation in the labor market
and economy. Women's economic contributions often depend on access to complete reproductive
health treatments, in addition to education, jobs with acceptable salaries, and workplace aid
(Kotlar et al., 2021). It is equally critical to acknowledge the connections between these
economic and health problems when considering the combination of policies required to put
women on a secure financial footing and allow them to make decisions that make sense to them.
For this type of study to be successful, a more detailed assessment of the linked nature of the
economy, healthcare, and employment is required.
Political debates and policymakers frequently treat reproductive justice, reproductive
rights, and access to reproductive health care as side problems unconnected to a wider policy
agenda that strives to empower individuals economically (Ross et al., 2016). The findings of this
analysis will assess how the two issues are linked and if laws that give women greater control
over their bodies also have better job opportunities for women. The findings of this study will
reinforce the premise that increasing economic opportunities for women and their families which
critical to building a strong economy that benefits everyone.
The main research question is how does access to reproductive health services (family
planning services, birth control, abortion) impact women’s economic empowerment?
The dependent variable (DV) to demonstrate economic empowerment is employment
status.
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Research Objectives
Women's empowerment may take many different forms. Access to education, work, a
steady income, healthcare decisions relating to reproduction and other family affairs, and a high
social position contribute to women's empowerment (Osamor et al., 2016). Because of the
current policies’ dedication to achieving women's empowerment, reproductive health is
important. Working to enhance the lives of the poor and disadvantaged is one technique for
achieving this goal. The objectives of this study include the following:
The objectives of this research include the following:
Assessing the difference between the economic empowerment of women with access to
contraceptives and those without.
investigate the link between women's empowerment and the choice of contraception and
economic state of women.
Literature Review
Women's choice in accessing and use of contraception has been a major global
development objective in recent decades (Blumenthal et al., 2016). The MDG and the World
Bank's Global Development reaffirm the importance of working toward enhancing women’s
empowerment through improving health and assessing access to contraception.
As described by Wright (2016), empowering women is providing them with more
platform to make significant decisions in areas where they were previously unable to do so. In
terms of family planning and procreative health, women's empowerment appears to have a key
impact in deciding results (Wright et al, 2016). The implications of gendered power structures on
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sexual and reproductive health outcomes must be included in any endeavor to understand
women's agency and design effective measures for enhancing it.
It is crucial to examine how policies on reproductive health influence women's monetary
stability, particularly through changes in fertility rates. Depending on the context, a woman's
"fertility" may refer to the age at which she has her first child, and the interval of births she has
while remaining reproductively active. Miller demonstrated that family planning had little
influence on general fertility rates and contributed nothing to Colombia's continuing
demographic transformation. Yet, it significantly encouraged women to postpone having their
first child, allowing more young women to complete their formal education.
During the 1994 International Conference targeting population growth, the freedom to
select one's family size, birth order, and timing was acknowledged as a basic human right
(Eriksson, 2021). There is a direct link between access to contraceptive methods and lower
maternal death and fertility rates. When women have access to contraception through family
planning services, they are more likely to be able to have the number of children they desire.
Despite this, the unmet demand for contraception remains significant, despite the advantages of
family planning being thoroughly shown. Unplanned births are expected to account for 40% of
all deliveries (Singh et al., 2017). Persistent hurdles to contraceptive procedures and related
behaviors highlight the importance of expanding our understanding of the structural factors of
contraceptive usages, such as women's empowerment, and stepping up efforts to address these
variables. Despite the vastly disparate outcomes, earlier studies on women’s enablement have
demonstrated that it is critical in changing reproductive health behaviors. The researchers
assessed the link between women's sense of autonomy and the frequency with which they had
children. There was a negative correlation between empowerment and the three outcomes they
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looked at minor fertility, prolonged birth intervals, and reduced incidence of unwanted pregnancy
(Upadhyay et al., 2014).
Based on Blanc's theoretical framework, Kabeer's conceptualization, and widely held
notions about gender roles and reproductive health, it is reasonable to predict that women's
empowerment has a direct relationship with women’s choices on various methods of
contraception outcomes (Prata 2017). This is possible by drawing on Blanc's theoretical
framework, Kabeer's conceptualization, and popularly held notions about gender roles and sexual
and reproductive health. Women can postpone, space out, or limit the number of children they
have due to family planning, giving them more time to focus on other elements of their lives
other than becoming wives and mothers. When women develop the mental capacity to make
measured judgments, they aspire to do more with their lives than be homemakers and mothers.
Particularly in the limited reproductive health resources setting, it is critical to routinely examine
the facts supporting such commonly held assumptions and conceptions and alter the concepts
involved before building treatments and programs.
One of the SDGs is to ensure that all women and girls, regardless of socioeconomic
status, have the opportunity to acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and technologies required
to effectively participate in the political and economic decision-making processes necessary to
achieve the inclusive, sustainable economic growth and social and environmental benefits
needed to complete the other SDGs. Women's self-sufficiency and the concept of contraception
and are all intertwined. Birth control that is easily accessible minimizes the incidence of unsafe
abortions, unwanted pregnancies, and maternal and newborn mortality (Atuhaire, 2019). Several
countries are working to achieve women's empowerment and to make this a reality, all women
must use reproductive health care services at the same rate. Atuhaire (2019), in his research,
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targeted economically disadvantaged, reproductive-age married Nepalese women. The study
aimed to see if there was a link between women's autonomy and the decision to have an abortion
and other family-planning difficulties. Women of low socioeconomic status were interviewed to
collect information on their attitudes regarding abortion and other forms of contraception for the
purpose of the study. The result did not show compelling evidence relating women's
empowerment to the contraceptive and abortion decisions of low-income women. Several
trustworthy sources reported on illegal abortion operations.
Women with lower-than-average levels of empowerment utilized modern methods of
contraception more frequently than those with higher-than-average levels of charge. The research
by Atuhaire (2019) concludes that factors other than a woman's sense of agency could influence
her decision about abortion and family planning, such as the proximity of healthcare facilities,
the ease of accessing those facilities via public transportation, and the availability of support
from a variety of government and non-government organizations.
The path of their social development is linked to how they feel about themselves, which
determines whether or not they can make decisions on their own, seize opportunities, and define
their lives both within and beyond the home. One of the SDGs is to ensure that women and girls
worldwide, regardless of their family's socioeconomic status, have full involvement in the
political and economic decision-making processes that are critical to the long-term health of
economies and the advancement of humanity.
In contrast to a spouse, employment, income, influence over income, and income level
all play a role. Evidence shows that improving women's well-being and reducing inequities, we
may assist mothers and children in living longer lives with fewer health issues and deaths. If this
aim is to be met, the condition of the impoverished and social misfits must be addressed.
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Women's autonomy, contraception, and family planning are all intertwined. Women's
empowerment fosters more independence and decision-making capacity in healthcare access,
mobility, reproductive rights, asset ownership, social group participation, and self-awareness.
Feminist empowerment is an effective method for improving public awareness. Yet, there is still
a considerable barrier to access to safe abortion techniques and understanding abortion
regulations. Safe abortion procedures and other types of family planning can be effective
instruments for measuring women's empowerment in a specific location. Birth control that is
easily accessible minimizes the incidence of unsafe abortions, unwanted pregnancies, and
maternal and newborn mortality.
Women can use the various opportunities as they develop by broadening their identities
beyond that of husbands and mothers. Women's empowerment is required for this type of
decision-making skill. To minimize the morbidity and mortality rates associated with unsafe
abortions and expand access to family planning services, it is critical to pay attention to the
elements of women's empowerment that contribute to methods of contraceptive decision-making.
In the United States, statistics on women contraception and empowerment indicated that
legal access to birth control at a younger age was linked to a 20% increase in the chance of
enrolling in college. Those who have access to contraception have a higher potential to finish
school. In comparison, women who did not have access to contraceptives in their early twenties,
and those who did by their early forties had a $2,200 higher yearly income. Women with limited
or no access to birth control options are less likely to enter the labor force and work fewer hours
per year than their peers who do. At 50, women who had access to contraception at an earlier age
earned 8% more per hour than those who did not.
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Women's limited access to jobs and career development can be lessened when they have
early and legal access to contraceptives. Women's increasing access to contraception can be
credited to about one-third of the drop in the salary gap between the sexes that had occurred by
the 1990s (Blau 2017). The availability of contraception has a significant favorable impact on
men's academic success. College-bound young men would be more likely to finish their degrees
if their female companions could obtain oral contraception through the right channels. Children
with access to contraceptives as their parents are more likely to achieve academically and
financially as adults. Reduced birth control costs, liberalized laws, and the start of public
awareness campaigns all increased the number of people who reported using a form of birth
control. By delaying motherhood for longer periods of time, women were able to further their
education, enter the workforce, and earn higher earnings, all of which enabled the growth of
women's economic independence (Karra, 2023).
According to Caruso (2022), the availability of modern contraception methods,
particularly the pill, allows American women to postpone marriage, increasing the average age at
which they have their first child and reducing the financial burden on the country associated with
investing in their academic development. The procedure is complicated, and various conditions
must be satisfied before completion. According to (Finlay et al., 2018), the two characteristics
must be met before deferring a first pregnancy may be considered beneficial to a woman's
economic independence. Putting off having a child is advantageous since it allows women to
further their education and training in their chosen careers. The second aspect is that men who
want to marry these women postpone their marriages because they understand the potential for
enhanced lifetime earnings that these women bring to the wedding. As a result, women who
delay having children are more likely to find partners who are good parents and role models for
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their children when they marry (Psaki, 2021). As a result, when women postpone their first
pregnancy and use that time for anything other than schooling, or when no social momentum is
built due to the wait, they risk losing out on the benefits of the delayed first birth and being
paired with less attractive partners.
Increasing access to contraception influenced the beneficiaries’ generation and the next
generation of women with children. (Hakim, 2016) demonstrates that the broad availability of
modern contraception consistently resulted in decreased family sizes in the United States. As a
result, parents could devote more time and resources to each child, resulting in better educational
attainment and income levels for their children as adults. As evidenced by the mechanisms
discussed by Finlay (2018), contraception methods affect the timing of first births, the number of
children, and women's education, as well as the educational attainment of beneficiaries' children
in the context of the United States.
Moreover, Skadsen (2017) used an instrumental variable method to show that abortion
legislation liberalization reduced fertility globally and that having one child increased female
labor force participation by two years on average. They established this by demonstrating that
increased labor-force participation was related to a one-child reduction in family size. Another
study obtained data from the United Nations on abortion regulations in each nation from 1960 to
2009 (Holcombe et al., 2020). Abortion legislation and the conditions under which it may be
performed differ between nations and eras within the same country.
Abortion is permitted in certain nations but not others; exceptions are granted when the
mother's life or mental health is endangered. Abortion has been allowed in a few countries for
economic or feminist reasons. The research discovered that nations and historical periods with
tougher abortion laws have higher fertility rates. Additionally, differences in abortion laws have a
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causal influence on women's labor-force participation, as evidenced by worldwide and historical
fluctuations in fertility rates from 1960 to 2009 (Bhalotra et al., 2021). Because most moms
cannot manage family duties with a profession, there is a negative association between a
woman's participation in the labor force and the number of children she has. Because of this, they
are unable to enter the labor force.
Research demonstrates that national laws and regulations impact contraceptive use and
fertility rates (Vargas Nunes Coll et al., 2019). Factors such as the order of initial births, the time
between births, and the number of children all impacted fertility and a woman’s ability to attain
educational and professional goals. These shifts in fertility affected women's financial
independence, which may be assessed by characteristics such as their level of education, labor-
force involvement, and the degree of education obtained by their offspring. Programs, as
opposed to the policy, can alter the demand or supply side of the contraceptive market and
possibly immediately impact the number of people using contraception. Long-term increases in
contraceptive use might cut fertility rates, boosting literacy and labor force participation (Hahn et
a., 2018).
Initially carried out in Bangladesh in the 1970s, the experiment has been utilized in
research to investigate the long-term impact of contraception promotion programs (Miller et al.,
2016). These projects aim to enhance women's economic condition. In the Bangladeshi district of
Matlab, 141 villages and their inhabitants were randomly picked to become treatment areas.
Community health workers were taught and given the resources to deliver contraception and
other mother and child health services at these check-ins. The "control" portions of the district
have access to the same national family planning services as the rest of the section (Miller et al.,
2016). In a second study analysis, more educated women aged 25-55 in program villages
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reported higher pay earnings or total income than those in control villages (Barham, 2021). The
average wealth, consumer durables, and jewelry of female-headed families in the program
villages were all higher than those in the control villages. The study links greater rates of
contraceptive use and women's long-term economic independence. However, another study
discovered that enhanced women's economic empowerment was only sometimes the long-term
effect of improved contraception availability in the same scenario (Yount et al., 2018). This
contradicts several research findings, which found a negative link between contraceptive usage
and women's economic independence.
Barham et al., (2021) also observed a positive intergenerational impact on educational
attainment among children of women with contraception than those without. On the other hand,
they discovered that children who were now adults had a lower propensity to move out of the
research zone and a higher propensity to engage in semiprofessional professions than children of
mothers who lived in control districts. This was the case when compared to the children of
mothers who lived in control districts. This was observed again when comparing kids from
experimental mothers to those from control mothers. This research indicated that women with
contraception gained economically from higher educational attainment and salary levels.
Galiè et al., (2019) discovered a critical component to the actualization of empowerment
by using a measure of women's licenses rather than women's economic empowerment per se.
This is an intriguing discovery. According to Neale et al., (2022), women with better access to
contraception are more likely to have their reproductive choices satisfied, giving them greater
power within their relationships. Furthermore, Kibira et al., (2020) discovered that women who
increased their contraceptive use while hiding the secret from their spouses faced severe
consequences on their mental health. As a consequence of the study, more women now have
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access to birth control techniques that were previously unavailable. In the beginning, it appears
that women could assert power and control over the time and number of children to have in their
families by increasing contraceptive use and lowering fertility to fulfill their wishes.
This research emphasizes an important feature of women's empowerment by indicating
that exercising women's decision-making authority over reproductive choices decreases
satisfaction. The increased agency is, therefore, only effective if accompanied by
acknowledgment. A hidden rise in one partner's control over the other breeds suspicion and ill
will inside the couple. For a partnership's improved decision-making capacity to be powerful for
both partners, there must be an openness and knowledge of that increased decision-making
ability—a power with, and power inside, that is recognized and embraced.
Masuda et al., (2020) discovered that as women's reproductive health improved, they
could postpone their first pregnancy and raise their school completion rate, giving them more
economic power. Atake et al., (2019) connected a decrease in the total number of children born
per woman to an increase in women's financial autonomy. In any case, a fall in fertility impacts
women's economic empowerment, regardless of whether or not it is the consequence of a change
in family planning policy that supports contraception. This holds true regardless of the existence
of a causal relationship between the antecedent and consequent events.
In another study, de Jong et al., (2017) examined data from 26 Sub-Saharan African
nations to determine how having more children affects a woman's capacity to obtain work. The
findings found that caring for more children lowered older women with higher levels of
education's chances of working by 6% for each new kid. This study explored whether women
with small children voluntarily decided to stay home and care for their children or were
compelled to remain home because they could not choose when or if they had children.
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According to de Jong et al., (2019) study findings, women are discouraged from entering labor.
Policymakers' proposed solution to this dilemma is to provide child care that permits mothers to
have young children while working in the formal labor market.
According to research by Phan (2016), women's labor force participation in South Asia is
not significantly impacted by the number of children they have. The gender of the firstborn child
has an influence on the educational level of succeeding generations, regardless of birth order.
More children do not increase academic achievement of later-born females, but they do improve
the academic performance of both later-born boys and first-born girls. The number of children
under a woman's care has little impact on her ability to provide for her family. Yet, men's
educational accomplishments differ based on the sequence in which they were born in their
families. This may result in more financial stability for families, but it will have no effect on
women or girls. Finlay (2018) determined that for every child a woman quits having, she gains
two years of working age. Finlay noticed this after poring over Bloom's results. Because of time
constraints, the findings add credence to the claim that working moms must choose between
caring for their families and contributing financially to the economy.
According to Yaya (2018), women's labor-force engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa is
directly proportional to the number of children they have. This study showed that moms with
several children spend more time at work. Because women in this situation were expected to foot
the price for childrearing, they would rather work longer hours at work than take time off to care
for a new child. The findings of this study are congruent with those of Finlay et al., (2018),
qualitative investigation. They discovered that in Burundi, women were in charge of the
household's ongoing costs, although men were largely responsible for acquiring and maintaining
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housing. The woman's financial obligations moved and expanded due to having another kid who
needed to be fed, dressed, and educated. Yet, the partner's housing cost remained the same.
The fact that women are frequently forced to work rather than having the opportunity to
do so calls into question the utility of utilizing female labor force participation as an
empowerment metric. Abraham et al., (2017) discovered that when fertility increased in Africa,
more women entered the labor force, with the majority working in the informal economy. This
increase in labor participation happened throughout Africa. However, an increase in a woman's
likelihood of working or the number of hours worked does not always indicate her greater
autonomy.
Despite several studies on women's empowerment and contraception, there are still
considerable gaps in the study of women's economic empowerment across the world.
Additionally, there are numerous situations in which women are forced to work, bringing the
legitimacy of using labor market participation as a proxy for economic autonomy into doubt.
Additionally, when employment prospects do not follow educational achievement, the notion
that education is a relevant indicator of economic empowerment is called into question, even
when those with higher levels of education are better qualified for higher-level roles. For starters,
it's not always apparent that a college diploma is a solid predictor of financial independence. It is
critical to broadening the spectrum of reproductive health indicators evaluated in order to
examine a broader variety of prospective programming options. Contraception and fertility are
regularly brought up in conversations about reproductive health. Yet, research on the relationship
between obstetric health and women's economic independence is far more limited. More research
is needed to present a complete picture of women's economic empowerment, however, studies on
education and female labor-force participation are critical.
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Hypothesis
H1. More-empowered women are more likely to use contraception than less-empowered
women.
Ho. Access to contraception does not affect women’s empowerment in the academic
scope and labor force.
Research Design
The process of performing experiments in a systematic, repeatable, and carefully
monitored manner to assure the highest level of accuracy and derive the most reliable
conclusions possible on a given hypothesis is known as experimental design. In most cases, one
wants to understand how one element influences another or how much weight an independent
variable has in a model with a dependent variable. This study will employ a quantitative survey
research design to test the hypothesis and analysis data collected. Using a survey allows for
researchers to use a set of structured questions where each question is designed to obtain a
specific piece of information. Quantitative data is numerical in nature (i.e., involves numbers and
varies in amount or quantity), is collected by directly measuring the variables of interest, and is
typically analyzed using statistical techniques. Quantitative data is often collected when
researchers are interested in answering questions about ‘how much’ something differs or
changes. For my specific research question, an observational survey will be used to gather data.
Observational surveys are non-experimental studies where the behavior of individuals is
observed/measured and recorded, and not changed or manipulated by the researcher. My method
includes the creation of a pilot survey to test with a sample group before solidifying survey
questions and generating a final survey. These survey questions will gather demographic
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information, as well as ask information on educational background, job/career information,
household information, financial habits, and other information meant to show economic
empowerment. The strengths of the survey method come from the ease of dissemination and the
benefits of analysis that a quantitative method provides for a large sample size. One of the
weaknesses of using quantitative research is the variability of the data quantity, which is
something that can be resolved using large sample sizes in order to have more accurate analysis.
However, if I am unable to obtain large sample sizes, I could switch to a mixed methods research
design and incorporate qualitative aspects to my survey questions.
Data Sources
The data sources for this research will be the recruitment of women between the ages of
18 and 50. This age gap allows for a experimental group of women who are within their child-
bearing years, have either been offered reproductive health services or denied services, have been
employed or able to work, and have been educated or had the opportunity for higher education.
The survey participants will be from the continental United States and open to all fifty states.
Data will be aggregated to show disparities between rural, suburban, and urban areas as well as
discrepancies between race, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status.
Policy Implications
If data and the hypotheses can prove that a women's economic empowerment improves
with access to reproductive health services. This data can help shape future legislation
advocating for more equality in the workforce, equal pay, and fight for litigation in favor of pro-
choice laws. Women’s economic empowerment boosts productivity increases economic
diversification and income equality in addition to other positive development outcomes.
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Companies greatly benefit from increasing employment and leadership opportunities for women,
which is shown to increase organizational effectiveness and growth. It is estimated that
companies with three or more women in senior management functions score higher in all
dimensions of organizational performance.
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