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Within-Mother Estimates Of The Effects Of Wic On Birth Outcomes In New York City

Author

Listed:
  • Janet Currie
  • Ishita Rajani

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="ecin12219-abs-0001"> There is a large literature suggesting that “WIC works” to improve birth outcomes. However, methodological limitations related to selection into the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program have left room for doubt about this conclusion. This article uses birth records from New York City to address some limitations of the previous literature. We estimate models with mother fixed effects to control for fixed characteristics of mothers and we directly investigate the way that time-varying characteristics of mothers affect selection into the WIC program. We find that WIC is associated with reductions in low birth weight, even among full-term infants, and with reductions in the probability that a child is “small for dates.” These improvements are associated with a reduction in the probability that the mother gained too little weight during pregnancy. Improvements tend to be largest for first born children. We also find that women on WIC are more likely to be diagnosed with chronic conditions, and receive more intensive medical services, a finding that may reflect improved access to medical care. ( JEL I12, H42)

Suggested Citation

  • Janet Currie & Ishita Rajani, 2015. "Within-Mother Estimates Of The Effects Of Wic On Birth Outcomes In New York City," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 53(4), pages 1691-1701, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:53:y:2015:i:4:p:1691-1701
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ecin.2015.53.issue-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Kreider, Brent & Pepper, John V. & Roy, Manan, 2018. "Does the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) Improve Infant Health Outcomes?," ISU General Staff Papers 201805010700001055, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    2. Owen Fleming & Lilly Springer, 2025. "The Spillover Effects of Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice Expansions on Safety Net Program Participation: Evidence from WIC," WORKING PAPERS SERIES IN THEORETICAL AND APPLIED ECONOMICS 202506, University of Kansas, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2025.
    3. Nobari, Tabashir Z. & Nau, Claudia L. & Crespi, Catherine M. & Koebnick, Corinna & Li, Xia & Whaley, Shannon E. & Wang, May C., 2024. "Linking WIC program and HMO administrative data to study the impact of WIC participation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    4. M. Taha Kasim & Benjamin Ukert, 2021. "The impact of WIC participation on tobacco use and alcohol consumption," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 39(3), pages 608-625, July.
    5. Sonchak, Lyudmyla, 2017. "The impact of WIC on breastfeeding initiation and gestational weight gain: Case study of South Carolina Medicaid mothers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 115-125.
    6. De Cao, Elisabetta & McCormick, Barry & Nicodemo, Catia, 2022. "Does unemployment worsen babies’ health? A tale of siblings, maternal behaviour, and selection," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Tamás Hajdu & Gábor Hajdu, 2020. "Temperature, climate change and birth weight: Evidence from Hungary," KRTK-KTI WORKING PAPERS 2032, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    8. Owen Fleming & Lilly Springer, 2025. "The Spillover Effects of Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice Expansions on Safety Net Program Participation: Evidence from WIC," WORKING PAPERS SERIES IN THEORETICAL AND APPLIED ECONOMICS 202501, University of Kansas, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2025.
    9. Marianne Bitler & Danea Horn & Esra Kose & Maria Rosales-Rueda & Arian Seifoddini, 2025. "Effects of WIC on Birth Outcomes: Evidence from Newly Digitized Data from the National Archives," NBER Working Papers 34521, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Katherine Meckel & Maya Rossin-Slater & Lindsey Uniat, 2023. "Efficiency versus Equity in the Provision of In-Kind Benefits: Evidence from Cost Containment in the California WIC Program," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(2), pages 363-392.
    11. Lilly Springer, 2025. "Downstream Effects of Post-Dobbs Abortion Bans: Birth Rates and WIC," WORKING PAPERS SERIES IN THEORETICAL AND APPLIED ECONOMICS 202513, University of Kansas, Department of Economics, revised May 2025.
    12. Janet Currie & Maya Rossin‐Slater, 2015. "Early‐Life Origins of Life‐Cycle Well‐Being: Research and Policy Implications," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 208-242, January.
    13. Zong‐Xian Xie & Shin‐Yi Chou & Jin‐Tan Liu, 2017. "The Short‐Run and Long‐Run Effects of Birth Weight: Evidence from Large Samples of Siblings and Twins in Taiwan," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(7), pages 910-921, July.
    14. Evan D. Peet & Dana Schultz & Susan Lovejoy & Fuchiang (Rich) Tsui, 2023. "Variation in the infant health effects of the women, infants, and children program by predicted risk using novel machine learning methods," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 194-217, January.
    15. Hilary Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2015. "US Food and Nutrition Programs," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 1, pages 219-301, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Bitler, Marianne & Currie, Janet & Hoynes, Hilary & Ruffini, Krista & Schulkind, Lisa & Willage, Barton, 2023. "Mothers as insurance: Family spillovers in WIC," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    17. Bolbocean, Corneliu & Tylavsky, Frances A., 2021. "The impact of safety net programs on early-life developmental outcomes," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    18. Hajdu, Tamás & Hajdu, Gábor, 2018. "Smoking ban and health at birth: Evidence from Hungary," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 37-47.
    19. Hanks, Andrew S. & Gunther, Carolyn & Lillard, Dean & Scharff, Robert L., 2016. "From Paper to Plastic: Understanding the Impact of EBT on WIC Recipient Behavior," 2017 Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) Annual Meeting, January 6-8, 2017, Chicago, Illinois 251834, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Di Fang & Michael R. Thomsen & Rodolfo M. Nayga & Aaron M. Novotny, 2019. "WIC Participation and Relative Quality of Household Food Purchases: Evidence from FoodAPS," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(1), pages 83-105, July.
    21. Yan, Ji, 2022. "Is WIC effective in improving pregnancy-related outcomes? An empirical reassessment," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    22. Lyu, Wei & Wehby, George L. & Kaestner, Robert, 2025. "Effects of income on infant health: Evidence from the expanded child tax credit and pandemic stimulus checks," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty

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