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Fetal Origins and Parental Responses

Author

Listed:
  • Douglas Almond

    (Department of Economics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
    National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138)

  • Bhashkar Mazumder

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60604)

Abstract

How do parental investments respond to health endowments at birth? Recent studies have combined insights from an earlier theoretical literature on household resource allocation with improved identification strategies to capture causal effects of early life health shocks. We describe empirical challenges in identifying behavioral responses and how recent studies have sought to address these. We then discuss the emerging literature on dynamic complementarities in parental investments arising from the staged, developmental nature of capability production and how capabilities may have multiple dimensions. The bulk of the empirical evidence to date suggests that parental investments reinforce initial endowment differences.

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas Almond & Bhashkar Mazumder, 2013. "Fetal Origins and Parental Responses," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 37-56, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:anr:reveco:v:5:y:2013:p:37-56
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    File URL: http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-economics-082912-110145
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    birth endowments; birth weight; parental investments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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