 Revealed comparative disadvantage of infants: Exposure to NAFTA and birth outcomesHamid Noghanibehambari Journal of International Economics, 2025, vol. 155, issue C Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between regional exposure to trade liberalization under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and infant health outcomes in the U.S., focusing on differences in impact across areas with varying levels of import competition. I explore this question by implementing event studies and difference-in-difference regressions that compare birth outcomes of infants born in different years relative to NAFTA and localities with differential exposure to import competition. Using more than 88 M birth records of Natality data, I find significant negative effects on a wide range of birth outcomes. The adverse effects are much larger for infants at the lower tails of birth weight and gestational age distribution. Additional analyses using a wide range of alternative data sources suggest several potential pathways, including reductions in income-employment, decreases in housing wealth, lower health care utilization, lower health insurance use, and lower-quality health insurance. Keywords: International trade; NAFTA; Birth outcomes; Health utilization; Health insurance (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:inecon:v:155:y:2025:i:c:s0022199625000315 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2025.104075 Access Statistics for this article Journal of International Economics is currently edited by Gourinchas, Pierre-Olivier and RodrÃguez-Clare, Andrés More articles in Journal of International Economics from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.