The impact of exposure to pipeline gas connection during pregnancy on child development: Evidence from China

Using a pipeline gas connection program in Chinese communities, this paper estimates the long-term impact of household access to cleaner fuel during pregnancy on child development. Our difference-in-differences estimates show that in-utero exposure to pipeline gas connection increases height-for-age z-score and reduces the rates of stunting and severe stunting among children aged 0–15 years in China. We do not find statistically significant impacts on weight-related outcomes. The positive effects on child height are larger for girls, poor children, and rural children, suggesting that building public energy infrastructure during pregnancy could help reduce gender, socioeconomic, and urban-rural disparities in child development. The improvement in birth outcomes and infancy health status and the increase in household investment might be two main underlying mechanisms behind the long-term health benefits from in-utero exposure to pipeline gas connection. Our further calculations show that the pipeline gas connection program is highly cost-beneficial and should be subsidized and supported by the government to increase household access to clean energy.