Does unemployment worsen babies’ health? A tale of siblings, maternal behaviour, and selection

Elisabetta De Cao, Barry McCormick and Catia Nicodemo

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: We study in-utero exposure to economic fluctuations on birth outcomes by exploiting geographical variation in the unemployment rate across local areas in England, and by comparing siblings born to the same mother. Using rich individual data from hospital administrative records for 2003–2012, babies’ health is found to be strongly pro-cyclical. This overall result masks marked differences between babies born in the most affluent areas whose health at birth improves in a recession, and babies born in the average-to-lowest income deprived areas whose health deteriorates. Maternal alcohol consumption, smoking, and delay in the first antenatal care assessment - combined with parental income loss, are found to drive the results. While differences in maternal risky behaviours can explain the heterogenous effects.

Keywords: unemployment rate; birth outcomes; birthweight; fertility; England (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 I10 I12 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 24 pages
Date: 2022-05-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-hea and nep-mac
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

Published in Journal of Health Economics, 1, May, 2022, 83. ISSN: 0167-6296

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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/114365/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Does unemployment worsen babies’ health? A tale of siblings, maternal behaviour, and selection (2022)
Working Paper: Does unemployment worsen babies' health? A tale of siblings, maternal behaviour and selection (2019)
Working Paper: Does Unemployment Worsen Babies' Health? A Tale of Siblings, Maternal Behaviour and Selection (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:114365

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