The impact of legalized abortion on child health outcomes and abandonment. Evidence from Romania

Andreea Mitrut and François-Charles Wolff

Journal of Health Economics, 2011, vol. 30, issue 6, 1219-1231

Abstract: We use household survey data and a unique census of institutionalized children to analyze the impact of abortion legalization in Romania. We exploit the lift of the abortion ban in December 1989, when communist dictator Ceausescu and his regime were removed from power, to understand its impact on children's health at birth and during early childhood and whether the lift of the ban had an immediate impact on child abandonment. We find insignificant estimates for health at birth outcomes and anthropometric z-scores at age 4 and 5, except for the probability of low birth weight which is slightly higher for children born after abortion became legal. Additionally, our findings suggest that the lift of the ban had decreased the number of abandoned children.

Keywords: Abortion; Health; Anthropometric outcomes; Child abandonment; Romania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Child Health Outcomes and Abandonment. Evidence from Romania (2011)
Working Paper: The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Child Health Outcomes and Abandonment. Evidence from Romania (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:30:y:2011:i:6:p:1219-1231

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2011.08.004

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