Graduation Year

2023

Date of Submission

12-2022

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Economics

Reader 1

Jessamyn Schaller

Abstract

This paper analyzes the effects that political ideology may have on changes in the labor force participation rates, marriage rates, and birth rates of women during the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States. I find that the political stance of a state seems to affect changes in labor force participation for women during the pandemic. Democratic-leaning states saw greater declines in participation rates than Republican-leaning. While both marriage and divorce rates increased during the pandemic, there does not seem to be any stark differences in those changes by political stance. Birth rates saw slight declines overall during the pandemic. Those declines were slightly greater in Republican-leaning states, counter to my initial hypothesis. In accordance with several studies and statistics, I hypothesize that Democratic-leaning states will see a greater decrease in births during the pandemic as those states tended to take Covid more seriously. Using data from several sources, this study finds that other indicators such as labor force participation and marital rates are better predictors of changes in birth rates than political stance. The political stance of a state is not a statistically significant indicator of birth rate changes during the pandemic.

Download

This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

Share

COinS