Intrafamily Resource Allocations: A Dynamic Structural Model of Birth Weight

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Del Bono, Emilia; Ermisch, John; Francesconi, Marco
• 署名单位: University of Essex
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/664831
• 发表日期: 2012
• 页码: 657-706
• 关键词: noncognitive skill formation; Child-care; cognitive-ability; maternal smoking; UNITED-STATES; panel-data; HEALTH; outcomes; pregnancy; FAMILY

摘要

Using large American and British survey data, this paper provides structural estimates of the production functions for birth weight and fetal growth. In addition to maternal smoking, we estimate the impact of when a mother stops work, which has not been considered in the literature. Mothers' work interruptions of up to 3 months before birth have a positive effect on birth outcomes, especially among British children. Parental behavior appears to respond to child idiosyncratic endowments in a way that suggests that parents have inequity aversion concerns. Evidence in favor of inequity aversion emerges also from the analysis of breast-feeding decisions.