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The Impact of Mothers' Earnings on Health Inputs and Infant Health

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  • Naci Mocan
  • Christian Raschke
  • Bulent Unel

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of mothers' earnings on birth weight and gestational age of infants. It also analyzes the impact of earnings on mothers' consumption of prenatal medical care, and their propensity to smoke and drink during pregnancy. The paper uses census-division- and year-specific skill-biased technology shocks as an instrument for mothers' earnings and employs a two-sample instrumental variables strategy. About 14 million records of births between 1989 and 2004 are used from the Natality Detail files along with the CPS Annual Demographic Files from the same period. The results reveal that an increase in weekly earnings prompts an increase in prenatal care of low-skill mothers (those who have at most a high school degree) who are not likely to be on Medicaid, and that earnings have a small positive impact on birth weight and gestational age of the newborns of these mothers. An increase in earnings does not influence the health of newborns of high-skill mothers (those with at least some college education). Variations in earnings have no impact on birth weight for mothers who are likely to be on Medicaid.

Suggested Citation

  • Naci Mocan & Christian Raschke & Bulent Unel, 2013. "The Impact of Mothers' Earnings on Health Inputs and Infant Health," NBER Working Papers 19434, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19434
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    1. Alexander, Diane & Currie, Janet, 2017. "Are publicly insured children less likely to be admitted to hospital than the privately insured (and does it matter)?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 33-51.
    2. Hope Corman & Dhaval Dave & Nancy E. Reichman, 2018. "Evolution of the Infant Health Production Function," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(1), pages 6-47, July.
    3. Seyed Mohammad Karimi, 2018. "Pre – Birth Exposure to Ramadan, Height, and the Length of Gastation," Working Papers 1236, Economic Research Forum, revised 10 Oct 2018.
    4. Lombardi, Caitlin McPherran, 2021. "Family income and mothers’ parenting quality: Within-family associations from infancy to late childhood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Bahadır Dursun & Resul Cesur & Inas R. Kelly, 2022. "Mandatory Schooling of Girls Improved Their Children's Health: Evidence from Turkey's 1997 Education Reform," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(3), pages 824-858, June.
    6. Duha T. Altindag & Bahadіr Dursun & Elif S. Filiz, 2022. "The effect of education on unemployment duration," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 21-42, January.
    7. Reader, Mary, 2023. "The infant health effects of starting universal child benefits in pregnancy: evidence from England and Wales," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118458, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Cooper, Kerris & Stewart, Kitty, 2020. "Does household income affect children’s outcomes? A systematic review of the evidence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 107029, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Noghanibehambari, Hamid, 2022. "Intergenerational health effects of Medicaid," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    10. Abu Dalou, Ahmad Yosuf, 2016. "Height of Northern Jordanian middle-class adults, born 1960–1990 in the response to improving socio-economic conditions," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 155-160.
    11. Cooper, Kerris & Stewart, Kitty, 2017. "Does Money Affect Children’s Outcomes? An update," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103494, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Bahadir Dursun & Resul Cesur & Inas Rashad Kelly, 2017. "The Value of Mandating Maternal Education in a Developing Country," NBER Working Papers 23492, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Patralekha Ukil, 2019. "Parental Economic Shocks and Infant Health: The Effect of Import Competition in the U.S," Working papers 2019-18, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    14. Dills, Angela K. & Grecu, Anca M., 2017. "Effects of state contraceptive insurance mandates," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 30-42.
    15. Balsa, Ana I. & Triunfo, Patricia, 2022. "The COVID-19 pandemic and birth outcomes in 2020: The role of prenatal care and other channels," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    16. Kerris Cooper & Kitty Stewart, 2017. "Does Money Affect Children's Outcomes? An update," CASE Papers /203, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    17. Kerris Cooper & Kitty Stewart, 2021. "Does Household Income Affect children’s Outcomes? A Systematic Review of the Evidence," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(3), pages 981-1005, June.
    18. Deokrye Baek & Duha T. Altindag & Naci Mocan, 2015. "Chinese Yellow Dust and Korean Infant Health," NBER Working Papers 21613, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Mary Reader, 2021. "The birthweight effects of universal child benefits in pregnancy: quasi-experimental evidence from England and Wales," CASE Papers /222, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    20. Reader, Mary, 2023. "The infant health effects of starting universal child benefits in pregnancy: Evidence from England and Wales," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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