Evaluating a National Reproductive Health Policy Using Synthetic Difference-in-Differences: Evidence from the Philippines

• In Event: Asia and Asian American Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 7: Asia and Asian America Section Roundtable - Health and Medicine

Abstract

Difference-in-Differences (DiD) designs are widely used to evaluate public policies, yet their credibility is often compromised in national policy settings characterized by serially correlated outcomes, gradual treatment adoption, and limited untreated comparison units. This paper applies a synthetic Difference-in-Differences (synthetic DiD) approach to evaluate the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law of 2012 in the Philippines. Using repeated cross-sectional Demographic and Health Survey data, synthetic birth cohorts and estimate cohort-level treatment effects on modern contraceptive use were constructed. While national contraceptive prevalence increased substantially after 2012, synthetic DiD estimates indicate no statistically significant cohort-specific treatment effect, suggesting that observed gains reflect broad-based institutional change rather than a discrete policy shock.

Author

• Alexandra Casison, University of Pennsylvania