Date and Time
November 9, 2005
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Availability
Open to the public
No RSVP required

Speaker
Grant Miller - Stanford University

There has been considerable debate over the last decade about whether family planning programs in developing countries reduce fertility or improve socio-economic outcomes. Despite suggestive associations, disagreement persists because the availability and use of modern contraceptives are generally determined by both supply-side and demand-side factors.

At this Research in Progress seminar, Assistant Professor of Medicine Grant Miller will present a paper that provides new evidence on the role of contraceptive supply by examining the surprisingly haphazard expansion of one of the world's oldest and largest family planning organizations - PROFAMILIA of Colombia. Family planning allowed Colombian women to postpone the birth of their first child and to have approximately .5 fewer children over their lifetime. Family planning also enabled young women to obtain more education and to work more and live independently later in life.

Although family planning explains only about 10 percent of Colombia's fertility decline, it appears to have reduced the otherwise substantial costs of fertility control and may be among the most effective development interventions.