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The impact of eliminating a child benefit on birth timing and infant health

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Abstract

We study the effects of the cancellation of a sizeable child benefit in Spain on birth timing and neonatal health. In May 2010, the government announced that a 2,500-euro universal "baby bonus" would stop being paid to babies born starting January 1, 2011. We use detailed micro data from birth certificates from 2000 to 2011, and find that more than 2,000 families were able to anticipate the date of birth of their babies from (early) January 2011 to (late) December 2010 (for a total of about 10,000 births a week nationally). This shifting took place in part via an increase as well as an anticipation of pre-programmed c-sections, seemingly mostly in private clinics. We find that this shifting of birthdates resulted in a significant increase in the number of borderline low birth weight babies, as well as a peak in neonatal mortality. The results suggest that announcement effects are important, and that families and health professionals may face effective trade-offs when deciding on the timing (and method) of birth.

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  • Cristina Borra & Libertad González Luna & Almudena Sevilla-Sanz, 2013. "The impact of eliminating a child benefit on birth timing and infant health," Economics Working Papers 1382, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    • Handle: RePEc:upf:upfgen:1382
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian Raschke, 2016. "The Impact of the German Child Benefit on Household Expenditures and Consumption," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 17(4), pages 438-477, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    timing of births; benefit elimination; announcement effects; infant health.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General

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