Twin Birth and Maternal Condition

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bhalotra, Sonia; Clarke, Damian
• 署名单位: University of Essex; Universidad de Santiago de Chile
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00789
• 发表日期: 2019-12
• 页码: 853-864
• 关键词: family-size; intergenerational transmission; exogenous variation; sex-ratio; trade-off; quantity; QUALITY; fertility; CHILDREN; determinants

摘要

Twin births are often construed as a natural experiment in the social and natural sciences on the premise that the occurrence of twins is quasi-random. We present population-level evidence that challenges this premise. Using individual data for 17 million births in 72 countries, we demonstrate that indicators of mother's health, health-related behaviors, and the prenatal environment are systematically positively associated with twin birth. The associations are sizable, evident in richer and poorer countries-evident even among women who do not use in vitro fertilization-and hold for numerous different measures of health. We discuss potential mechanisms, showing evidence that favors selective miscarriage.