Family Spillovers of Miscarriage

Lea-Karla Matic

No 2026-04, Economics working papers from Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria

Abstract: Using Austrian administrative data, I estimate the causal effect of miscarriage on women’s labor market and health outcomes, as well as spillover effects on close family members. To do so, I construct counterfactuals for affected individuals from those who experience a miscarriage at a later point in time. The results show that affected women experience short-term labor market detachment, worsening mental health, and increased investment in future fertility. Subsequent fertility shapes these effects, with more persistent adverse outcomes among women without a subsequent birth. For spouses, I find suggestive evidence of mental health effects, but no significant changes in labor supply or fertility-related investments beyond those observed prior to the loss. For sisters, the results indicate increased preventive reproductive healthcare use that is not explained by their own pregnancies.

Keywords: miscarriage; fertility; mental health; labor supply; spillover effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I12 J13 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-04
Note: English
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jku:econwp:2026-04

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