The Effect of Craigslist Market Entry on Fertility Outcomes

Information has long been recognized as a key component in economic decisions and search frictions are reduced as more information becomes available. In this project, we examine the effect of the entry of Craigslist into a market on fertility outcomes. We hypothesize that increasing access to potential partners via Craigslist influences fertility decisions by changing the number of potential partners an individual will encounter and at the same time increasing the information available to participants in the market. Earlier studies have found increases in HIV rates associated with Craigslist’s entry providing some justification for examining fertility rates. We estimate the effect of Craigslist entry using a panel of U.S. counties over the period 1995 to 2016 using a difference-in-differences approach. Our findings contribute to the growing literature of how access to and use of the internet influences fertility and health outcomes.