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Saving Lives at Birth: The Impact of Home Births on Infant Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • N. Meltem Daysal

    (University of Southern Denmark)

  • Mircea Trandafir

    (University of Southern Denmark)

  • Reyn van Ewijk

    (Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Germany)

Abstract

Many developed countries have recently experienced sharp increases in home birth rates. This paper investigates the impact of home births on the health of low-risk newborns using data from the Netherlands, the only developed country where home births are widespread. To account for endogeneity in location of birth, we exploit the exogenous variation in distance from a mother’s residence to the closest hospital. We find that giving birth in a hospital leads to substantial reductions in newborn mortality. We provide suggestive evidence that proximity to medical technologies may be an important channel contributing to these health gains.

Suggested Citation

  • N. Meltem Daysal & Mircea Trandafir & Reyn van Ewijk, 2014. "Saving Lives at Birth: The Impact of Home Births on Infant Outcomes," Working Papers 1409, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, revised 18 Sep 2014.
    • Handle: RePEc:jgu:wpaper:1409
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    medical technology; birth; home birth; mortality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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