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Breastfeeding and Early Childhood Outcomes: Is There a Causal Relationship?

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This paper examines the impact of breastfeeding on early childhood outcomes. Using Birth Cohort of Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey data and employing a recently developed econometric technique, we estimate the upper and lower bounds of the effect of breastfeeding on early childhood health and cognitive ability. We find that even a small fraction of selection on unobservables explains the entire effect of breastfeeding on early childhood outcomes.

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  • Masayuki Onda, 2016. "Breastfeeding and Early Childhood Outcomes: Is There a Causal Relationship?," Departmental Working Papers 2016-09, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
    • Handle: RePEc:lsu:lsuwpp:2016-09
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