We investigate the effect of a COVID-related policy that mandated temporary work suspensions in specific industries on Voluntary Pregnancy Terminations (VPTs) and fertility decisions within households. We exploit the variability in the share of furloughed workers across Italian municipalities to estimate in a DiD framework the impact of closures on abortion rates and pregnancy rates. Relying on administrative data on VPTs and births, we find that—although social distancing caused an overall drop in abortions—municipalities in the 4th quartile of the furloughed workers’ distribution experienced a positive differential in quarterly ARs (10-13% relative to the mean pre-pandemic rate), compared to those in the lower tail of the distribution. The effect is mostly driven by married, non-working women in households with 1-2 children. We also find that the result holds for furloughed workers in the industrial sector. This suggests that economic insecurity during the first months of the pandemic in households with children, where the sole earner is the man, is the likely driver of the effect on VPTs. In line with this interpretation, we do not find any effects on births.

In the digital age, an increasing number of people rely on the internet to gather information and make informed decisions.

In healthcare, this phenomenon has significant implications for patient mobility, particularly in Italy, where individuals can seek treatment freely across provinces.

This paper examines the relationship between broadband penetration and patient mobility in the Italian healthcare market. Using two complementary studies, we analyze how internet connectivity influences patients’ decisions to seek care outside their home provinces, focusing on oncological treatments.

Our findings suggest that broadband access reduces inappropriate mobility by correcting misperceptions about local healthcare quality.

However, digital inequalities continue to reinforce disparities in access to reliable health information, emphasizing the need for targeted policy interventions to expand internet coverage and combat misinformation.