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Weather Shocks and Health at Birth in Colombia

Author

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  • Andalón, Mabel
  • Azevedo, João Pedro
  • Rodríguez-Castelán, Carlos
  • Sanfelice, Viviane
  • Valderrama-González, Daniel

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between health outcomes at birth and fetal exposure to temperature shocks in rural Colombia during 1999–2008. We overcome a limitation of previous studies, confined by small samples and restricted areas, by using records on nearly 1.5million births. We exploit variations in exposure to temperature shocks by municipality and by year and month of conception in a fixed effects model. We find that exposure to moderate heat waves during the third trimester of pregnancy reduces the birthweight of the infant by about 4.1g. Furthermore, exposure to moderate cold shocks during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy reduces the length at birth by 0.014–0.018cm. We also find evidence of the negative effects of heat weaves in Apgar tests at a magnitude of −0.2 to −0.6 percentage points of the normal Apgar score.

Suggested Citation

  • Andalón, Mabel & Azevedo, João Pedro & Rodríguez-Castelán, Carlos & Sanfelice, Viviane & Valderrama-González, Daniel, 2016. "Weather Shocks and Health at Birth in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 69-82.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:82:y:2016:i:c:p:69-82
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.01.015
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    Cited by:

    1. Foureaux Koppensteiner, Martin & Manacorda, Marco, 2016. "Violence and birth outcomes: Evidence from homicides in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 16-33.
    2. Molina, Oswaldo & Saldarriaga, Victor, 2017. "The perils of climate change: In utero exposure to temperature variability and birth outcomes in the Andean region," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 111-124.
    3. Andrea Bastianin & Alessandro Lanza & Matteo Manera, 2018. "Economic impacts of El Niño southern oscillation: evidence from the Colombian coffee market," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(5), pages 623-633, September.
    4. repec:eee:wdevel:v:110:y:2018:i:c:p:63-74 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. repec:taf:oxdevs:v:46:y:2018:i:1:p:10-27 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Alejandro de la Fuente & Eduardo Ortiz-Juárez & Carlos Rodríguez-Castelán, 2018. "Living on the edge: vulnerability to poverty and public transfers in Mexico," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(1), pages 10-27, January.
    7. Mulmi, Prajula & Block, Steven A. & Shively, Gerald E. & Masters, William A., 2016. "Climatic conditions and child height: Sex-specific vulnerability and the protective effects of sanitation and food markets in Nepal," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 63-75.
    8. Groppo, Valeria & Kraehnert, Kati, 2016. "Extreme Weather Events and Child Height: Evidence from Mongolia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 59-78.
    9. Mochamad Pasha & Marc Rockmore & Chih Ming Tan, 2019. "Positive Early Life Rainfall Shocks and Adult Mental Health," Working Paper series 19-09, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    10. Mochamad Pasha & Marc Rockmore & Chih Ming Tan, 2018. "Early Life Exposure to Above Average Rainfall and Adult Mental Health," CINCH Working Paper Series 1805, Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Competent in Competition and Health.
    11. Manuel Barron & Sam Heft-Neal & Tania Perez, 2018. "Long-term effects of weather during gestation on education and labor outcomes: Evidence from Peru," Working Papers 134, Peruvian Economic Association.
    12. Jennifer Trudeau & Karen Smith Conway & Andrea Kutinova Menclova, 2016. "Soaking Up the Sun: The Role of Sunshine in the Production of Infant Health," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-40, January.
    13. Manuel Barron, 2018. "In-utero weather shocks and learning outcomes," Working Papers 137, Peruvian Economic Association.
    14. repec:eee:wdevel:v:99:y:2017:i:c:p:350-376 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Carrillo, B., 2018. "Fetal Exposure to Abnormal Rainfall Events and Later-Life Outcomes in Colombia," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277372, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Carrillo, B.;, 2019. "Early Rainfall Shocks and Later-Life Outcomes: Evidence from Colombia," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 19/06, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    17. repec:eee:jhecon:v:62:y:2018:i:c:p:13-44 is not listed on IDEAS

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