THE IMPACT OF SCHEDULING BIRTH EARLY ON INFANT HEALTH

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Borra, Cristina; Gonzalez, Libertad; Sevilla, Almudena
• 署名单位: University of Sevilla; Pompeu Fabra University; Barcelona School of Economics; University of London; Queen Mary University London
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1542-4766
• DOI: 10.1093/jeea/jvx060
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 30-78
• 关键词: late preterm infants; early term delivery; gestational-age; respiratory-distress; socioeconomic-status; weight; bronchiolitis; fetal; hospitalization; pollution

摘要

We take advantage of a unique natural experiment to provide new, credible evidence on the health consequences of scheduling birth early for non-medical reasons. In May 2010, the Spanish government announced that a (sic)2,500 universal baby bonus would stop being paid to babies born after December 31, 2010. Using administrative data from birth certificates and hospital records, we find that about 2,000 families shifted their date of birth from January 2011 to December 2010 (out of 9,000 weekly births). The affected babies, born about one week early on average, weighed about 200 g less at birth, and suffered a sizeable increase in hospitalization rates in the first two months of life, mostly for respiratory disease.