IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dem/demres/v35y2016i7.html

Differences in perinatal health between immigrant and native-origin children: Evidence from differentials in birth weight in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Héctor Cebolla-Boado

    (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC))

  • Leire Salazar

    (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED))

Abstract

Background: We re-examine the logic of the ‘healthy immigrant paradox,’ according to which the children of immigrant mothers have superior birth outcomes. Objective: This paper explores perinatal inequality between migrants and natives in Spain, or, more specifically, differences in birth weight. Methods: Using the universe of births in Spain in 2013, we go beyond the standard approach of using a dichotomous variable for estimating the risk of low birth weight (LBW) and high birth weight (HBW). We estimate quantile regression to explore migrant-native differentials in their children’s birth weight across the range of observed values and also focus on the impact of migrant status among babies weighing more than 4,000 and 4,500 grams ‒ two thresholds which, in a similar way to LBW, are associated with certain pathological characteristics and problematic future development. Results: Our paper not only confirms that the well-known epidemiological regularity of immigrant-origin babies having an advantage in avoiding LBW applies to Spain, but also, at the other extreme, it shows that when birth weight is above 4,000 or 4,500 grams, migrant-origin babies weigh significantly more than those of native origin. Contribution: In sum, we contribute to the literature by showing that the higher average weight of newly born babies from immigrant mothers is not always a source of perinatal advantage. We provide access to the data and the syntax used, so that our results can be replicated (our dataset is publicly available).

Suggested Citation

  • Héctor Cebolla-Boado & Leire Salazar, 2016. "Differences in perinatal health between immigrant and native-origin children: Evidence from differentials in birth weight in Spain," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(7), pages 167-200.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:35:y:2016:i:7
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2016.35.7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol35/7/35-7.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/DemRes.2016.35.7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandra E. Black & Paul J. Devereux & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2007. "From the Cradle to the Labor Market? The Effect of Birth Weight on Adult Outcomes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(1), pages 409-439.
    2. Blondel, B. & Kogan, M.D. & Alexander, G.R. & Dattani, N. & Kramer, M.S. & Macfarlane, A. & Wen, S.W., 2002. "The impact of the increasing number of multiple births on the rates of preterm birth and low birthweight: An international study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(8), pages 1323-1330.
    3. Guillermina Jasso & Douglas S. Massey & Mark R. Rosenzweig & James P. Smith, 2004. "Immigrant Health--Selectivity and Acculturation," Labor and Demography 0412002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Johnson, R.C. & Schoeni, R.F., 2011. "Early-life origins of adult disease: National longitudinal population-based study of the United States," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(12), pages 2317-2324.
    5. repec:ucn:wpaper:10197/317 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Fernando Riosmena & Rebeca Wong & Alberto Palloni, 2013. "Migration Selection, Protection, and Acculturation in Health: A Binational Perspective on Older Adults," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(3), pages 1039-1064, June.
    7. Johnson Rucker C & Schoeni Robert F, 2011. "The Influence of Early-Life Events on Human Capital, Health Status, and Labor Market Outcomes Over the Life Course," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(3), pages 1-57, September.
    8. Abraído-Lanza, A.F. & Dohrenwend, B.P. & Ng-Mak, D.S. & Turner, J.B., 1999. "The Latino mortality paradox: A test of the 'salmon bias' and healthy migrant hypotheses," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(10), pages 1543-1548.
    9. Teitler, Julien O. & Hutto, Nathan & Reichman, Nancy E., 2012. "Birthweight of children of immigrants by maternal duration of residence in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 459-468.
    10. Hamilton, Erin R. & Choi, Kate H., 2015. "The mixed effects of migration: Community-level migration and birthweight in Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 278-286.
    11. Alberto Palloni & Elizabeth Arias, 2004. "Paradox lost: Explaining the hispanic adult mortality advantage," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(3), pages 385-415, August.
    12. Jason Boardman & Daniel Powers & Yolanda Padilla & Robert Hummer, 2002. "Low birth weight, social factors, and developmental outcomes among children in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 39(2), pages 353-368, May.
    13. Vicente Fuster & Pilar Zuluaga & Jorge Román-Busto, 2014. "Stillbirth incidence in Spain: A comparison of native and recent immigrant mothers," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 31(29), pages 889-912.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kristín Helga Birgisdóttir & Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir, 2017. "Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(25), pages 769-852.
    2. Anna Tegunimataka, 2023. "The Health of Immigrant Youth in Denmark: Examining Immigrant Generations and Origin," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 659-694, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Touma, Fatima & Hummer, Robert A., 2022. "Race/ethnicity, immigrant generation, and physiological dysregulation among U.S. adults entering midlife," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    2. Gabriella Berloffa & Francesca Paolini, 2019. "Decomposing Immigrant Differences in Physical and Mental Health: A 'Beyond the Mean' Analysis," DEM Working Papers 2019/4, Department of Economics and Management.
    3. Erika Arenas & Noreen Goldman & Anne Pebley & Graciela Teruel, 2015. "Return Migration to Mexico: Does Health Matter?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(6), pages 1853-1868, December.
    4. Fernando Riosmena & Rebeca Wong & Alberto Palloni, 2013. "Migration Selection, Protection, and Acculturation in Health: A Binational Perspective on Older Adults," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(3), pages 1039-1064, June.
    5. Silvia Loi & Jo Mhairi Hale, 2019. "Migrant health convergence and the role of material deprivation," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(32), pages 933-962.
    6. David M. Cutler & Adriana Lleras-Muney & Tom Vogl, 2008. "Socioeconomic Status and Health: Dimensions and Mechanisms," NBER Working Papers 14333, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Zaiceva, A. & Zimmermann, K.F., 2016. "Migration and the Demographic Shift," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 119-177, Elsevier.
    8. repec:plo:pone00:0199669 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Alma Vega & Noli Brazil, 2015. "A multistate life table approach to understanding return and reentry migration between Mexico and the United States during later life," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(43), pages 1211-1240.
    10. Mathieu Ichou & Matthew Wallace, 2019. "The Healthy Immigrant Effect: The role of educational selectivity in the good health of migrants," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(4), pages 61-94.
    11. Lídia Farré, 2016. "New evidence on the healthy immigrant effect," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(2), pages 365-394, April.
    12. Daniel Powers, 2013. "Paradox Revisited: A Further Investigation of Racial/Ethnic Differences in Infant Mortality by Maternal Age," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(2), pages 495-520, April.
    13. Rachel Kimbro & Scott Lynch & Sara McLanahan, 2008. "The Influence of Acculturation on Breastfeeding Initiation and Duration for Mexican-Americans," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 27(2), pages 183-199, April.
    14. Irma Elo & Neil Mehta & Cheng Huang, 2011. "Disability Among Native-born and Foreign-born Blacks in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(1), pages 241-265, February.
    15. Hamilton, Tod G. & Hummer, Robert A., 2011. "Immigration and the health of U.S. black adults: Does country of origin matter?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(10), pages 1551-1560.
    16. Alcántara, Carmela & Chen, Chih-Nan & Alegría, Margarita, 2014. "Do post-migration perceptions of social mobility matter for Latino immigrant health?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 94-106.
    17. Noreen Goldman & Anne Pebley & Mathew Creighton & Graciela Teruel & Luis Rubalcava & Chang Chung, 2014. "The Consequences of Migration to the United States for Short-Term Changes in the Health of Mexican Immigrants," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(4), pages 1159-1173, August.
    18. Reynolds, Megan M. & Chernenko, Alla & Read, Jen'nan Ghazal, 2016. "Region of origin diversity in immigrant health: Moving beyond the Mexican case," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 102-109.
    19. Warren, John Robert & Knies, Laurie & Haas, Steven & Hernandez, Elaine M., 2012. "The impact of childhood sickness on adult socioeconomic outcomes: Evidence from late 19th century America," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(8), pages 1531-1538.
    20. Aresha M. Martinez-Cardoso & Arline T. Geronimus, 2021. "The Weight of Migration: Reconsidering Health Selection and Return Migration among Mexicans," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-12, November.
    21. Frank Trovato, 2020. "The Immigrant Mortality Advantage in Canada, 2001 and 2011," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 351-379, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:35:y:2016:i:7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Editorial Office (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.