Economists Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine studied why teenage birth rates dropped in America. They found that MTV’s reality show “16 and Pregnant,” on the air from 2009 to 2014, led to more online search activity regarding birth control and abortion, and ultimately led to a 5.7% reduction in teen births in the 18 months following its introduction.
Kearney and Lewis join Here & Now‘s Scott Tong.
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