The Weight of the Crisis: Evidence from Newborns in Argentina

Carlos Bozzoli and Climent Quintana-Domeque

No 1054, Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin from DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research

Abstract: Argentina hit world news headlines in 2002 due to the largest debt-default in history and a sudden economic collapse reminiscent of economic statistics from the Great Depression. In this article, we focus on other consequences of the crisis that are not so obvious, but that may linger for decades on. Combining macroeconomic indicators with the Argentine national registry of live births, approximately 1.9 million live births occurring between 2001 and 2003, we show that the crisis led to an average birth weight loss of 30 grams. Our estimate is robust to different identification strategies. This deterioration in birth weight occurred in just about 6 months, and represents one sixth of the difference in average birth weight between American and Pakistani babies. We also find that the crisis affected particularly the weight of babies born from low-socioeconomic status mothers. In an attempt to estimate the long-lasting economic cost of the crisis, we simulate the average loss of future individual earnings due to the reduction in average birth weight: about 500 US dollars per live birth in present value.

Keywords: Argentina; birth weight; economic crisis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 J1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 , Tab. p.
Date: 2010
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lam
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The Weight of the Crisis: Evidence From Newborns in Argentina (2014)
Working Paper: The Weight of the Crisis: Evidence from Newborns in Argentina (2013)
Working Paper: The Weight of the Crisis: Evidence From Newborns in Argentina (2010)
Working Paper: The Weight of the Crisis: Evidence from Newborns in Argentina (2010)
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