The infant health effects of starting universal child benefits in pregnancy: evidence from England and Wales

Mary Reader

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Child benefits are typically paid from birth. This paper asks whether starting universal child benefits in pregnancy leads to improvements in infant health. Leveraging administrative birth registry and hospital microdata from England and Wales, I study the effects of the Health in Pregnancy Grant, a universal conditional cash transfer equivalent to three months of child benefit (190 GBP) as a lump sum to pregnant mothers from 2009 to 2011. I exploit quasi-experimental variation in eligibility with a regression discontinuity design in the date of birth of the baby. I find that the policy increased birth weight by 8–12 grams on average, reduced low birth weight (

Keywords: birth weight; infant health; cash transfer; child benefit; STICERD; Department of Social Policy Titmuss Meinhardt research fund (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 17 pages
Date: 2023-05-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published in Journal of Health Economics, 1, May, 2023, 89. ISSN: 0167-6296

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:118458

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