Something in the water: contaminated drinking water and infant health

Janet Currie, Joshua Graff Zivin, Katherine Meckel, Matthew Neidell and Wolfram Schlenker

University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series from Department of Economics, UC San Diego

Abstract: This paper provides estimates of the effects of in utero exposure to contaminated drinking water on fetal health. To do this, we examine the universe of birth records and drinking water testing results for the state of New Jersey from 1997 to 2007. Our data enable us to compare outcomes across siblings who were potentially exposed to differing levels of harmful contaminants from drinking water while in utero. We find small effects of drinking water contamination on all children, but large and statistically significant effects on birth weight and gestation of infants born to less educated mothers. We also show that those mothers who were most affected by contamination were the least likely to move between births in response to contamination.

Keywords: Preterm; Low Birth Weight and Health of the Newborn; Foodborne Illness; Perinatal Period - Conditions Originating in Perinatal Period; Infant Mortality; Conditions Affecting the Embryonic and Fetal Periods; Pediatric; Reproductive health and childbirth; Good Health and Well Being; Clean Water and Sanitation; Economic Theory; Applied Economics; Econometrics; Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-08-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Something in the water: contaminated drinking water and infant health (2013)
Journal Article: Something in the water: contaminated drinking water and infant health (2013)
Working Paper: Something in the Water: Contaminated Drinking Water and Infant Health (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cdl:ucsdec:qt5f71642s

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