The Effect of Maternal Drug Use on Birth Weight: Measurement Error in Binary Variables

Robert Kaestner (), Ted Joyce () and Hassan Wehbeh

No 5434, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper develops a method to correct for non-random measurement error in a binary indicator of illicit drugs. Our results suggest that estimates of the effect of self reported prenatal drug use on birth weight are biased upwards by measurement error -- a finding contrary to predictions of a model of random measurement error. We show that more accurate estimates of the true effect of drug use on birth weight can be obtained by using the predicted probability of falsely reporting drug use. This suggests that out-of-sample information on drug use may improve estimates of the effect of reported drug use in other settings.

JEL-codes: I12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1996-01
Note: HE
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Journal Article: The Effect of Maternal Drug Use on Birth Weight: Measurement Error in Binary Variables (1996)
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