The Rise of the Modern Hospital and Early-Life Health: Evidence from the Hill-Burton Act

Owen Thompson, Jason Fletcher and Karin Wu

No 34976, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The U.S. hospital sector expanded rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, largely due to construction subsidies provided under federal legislation known as the Hill-Burton Act. This paper examines the impact of Hill-Burton grants on maternity care access and infant health. We find that grants for public hospitals significantly reduced out-of-hospital births and infant mortality, particularly among non-white populations. In contrast, grants for private non-profit hospitals had no measurable effects on out-of-hospital births or infant mortality.

JEL-codes: H40 I39 J18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03
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