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Beyond Birthweight: The Origins of Human Capital

Author

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  • Conti, Gabriella

    (University College London)

  • Hanson, Mark

    (University of Southampton)

  • Inskip, Hazel

    (University of Southampton)

  • Crozier, Sarah

    (University of Southampton)

  • Cooper, Cyrus

    (University of Southampton)

  • Godfrey, Keith

    (University of Southampton)

Abstract

Birth weight is the most widely used indicator of neonatal health, mainly because it is routinely recorded in birth registries. But are better measures available? We use unique data including fetal ultrasounds to show that more specific measures of the fetus and of the newborn are more informative about the prenatal environment and more predictive of child health and development, beyond birth weight. Our results are robust to correcting for measurement error and accounting for child- and mother-specific unobserved heterogeneity. Our analysis rationalizes a common finding in the early origins literature, that prenatal events can influence postnatal development without aecting birth outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Conti, Gabriella & Hanson, Mark & Inskip, Hazel & Crozier, Sarah & Cooper, Cyrus & Godfrey, Keith, 2020. "Beyond Birthweight: The Origins of Human Capital," IZA Discussion Papers 13296, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13296
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    Cited by:

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    2. Chang, Grace & Favara, Marta & Novella, Rafael, 2022. "The origins of cognitive skills and non-cognitive skills: The long-term effect of in-utero rainfall shocks in India," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    3. Battistin, Erich & Lamarche, Carlos & Rettore, Enrico, 2020. "Quantiles of the Gain Distribution of an Early Child Intervention," CEPR Discussion Papers 14721, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Daniel Auer & Johannes S. Kunz, 2021. "Communication Barriers and Infant Health: Intergenerational Effects of Randomly Allocating Refugees Across Language Regions," SoDa Laboratories Working Paper Series 2021-07, Monash University, SoDa Laboratories.
    5. Gabriella Conti, 2013. "The Developmental Origins of Health Inequality," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Health and Inequality, volume 21, pages 285-309, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    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. Fichera, Eleonora & Anselmi, Laura & Gwati, Gwati & Brown, Garrett & Kovacs, Roxanne & Borghi, Josephine, 2021. "Can Results-Based Financing improve health outcomes in resource poor settings? Evidence from Zimbabwe," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    8. Emmanuelle Lavaine & Marion Davin, 2021. "The Role of Health at Birth and Parental Investment in Early Child Development. Evidence from the French ELFE Cohort," Post-Print hal-03349127, HAL.
    9. Damian Clarke & Nicolas Lillo Bustos & Kathya Tapia-Schythe, 2022. "Estimating Inter-generational Returns to Medical Care: New Evidence from At-Risk Newborns," Working Papers wp537, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    10. Kennedy-Moulton, Kate & Miller, Sarah & Persson, Petra & Rossin-Slater, Maya & Wherry, Laura R. & Aldana, Gloria, 2022. "Maternal and Infant Health Inequality: New Evidence from Linked Administrative Data," IZA Discussion Papers 15745, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Clark, Andrew E. & D’Ambrosio, Conchita & Rohde, Nicholas, 2021. "Prenatal economic shocks and birth outcomes in UK cohort data," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    12. Trejo, Sam, 2020. "Exploring Genetic Influences on Birth Weight," SocArXiv 7j59q, Center for Open Science.
    13. Francisco J. Cabrera-Hernández & Pedro P. Orraca-Romano, 2023. "Inequality in the Household: How Parental Income Matters for the Long-Term Treatment of Healthy and Unhealthy Siblings," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 674-692, September.
    14. Cabrera-Hernandez, Francisco & Orraca-Romano, Pedro, 2021. "Inequality in the household: neonatal health effects on education outcomes and parents’ compensations among siblings," MPRA Paper 111076, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Kim, Jiyoon & Lee, Ajin & Rossin-Slater, Maya, 2019. "What to Expect When It Gets Hotter: The Impacts of Prenatal Exposure to Extreme Heat on Maternal and Infant Health," IZA Discussion Papers 12685, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Marion Davin & Emmanuelle Lavaine, 2021. "The role of health at birth and parental investment in early child development: evidence from the French ELFE cohort," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(8), pages 1217-1237, November.
    17. 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.
    18. Doyle, Mary-Alice, 2023. "Seasonal patterns in newborns’ health: Quantifying the roles of climate, communicable disease, economic and social factors," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    birth weight; fetal development; child health; developmental origins; measurement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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