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Selection and the Marriage Premium for Infant Health

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  • Kasey S. Buckles

    (Department of Economics, University of Notre Dame)

Abstract

Previous research has found a positive relationship between marriage and infant health. However, it is unclear whether this relationship is causal or a reflection of positive selection into marriage. In this paper, we use multiple empirical approaches to address this issue. First, we use the rich set of information available in the Natality Detail Files to control for selection into marriage along observable characteristics. We use a technique developed by Gelbach (2009) to determine the relative importance of different covariates, and show how selection into marriage has changed over time. Second, we construct a matched sample of children born to the same mother and exploit individual-level variation in marital status at birth. We apply fixed-effects and first-differences techniques to this matched sample to account for time-invariant unobserved characteristics. We find evidence of a sizable marriage premium. However, the premium fell by over 40% between 1989 and 2004, largely as a result of declining selection into marriage by race. Accounting for selection reduces OLS estimates of the marriage premiums for birth weight, prematurity, and infant mortality by at least half.

Suggested Citation

  • Kasey S. Buckles, 2012. "Selection and the Marriage Premium for Infant Health," Working Papers 003, University of Notre Dame, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2012.
  • Handle: RePEc:nod:wpaper:003
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    Cited by:

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    2. Kane, Jennifer B. & Harris, Kathleen Mullan & Siega-Riz, Anna Maria, 2018. "Intergenerational pathways linking maternal early life adversity to offspring birthweight," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 89-96.
    3. Kim, Albert Young-Il & Lee, Jungmin, 2017. "Does Single Motherhood Hurt Infant Health among Young Mothers?," IZA Discussion Papers 10592, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Tiffany Green & Tod Hamilton, 2019. "Maternal educational attainment and infant mortality in the United States: Does the gradient vary by race/ethnicity and nativity?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(25), pages 713-752.
    5. Briggs Depew & Joseph Price, 2018. "Marriage and the economic status of women with children," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1049-1061, December.
    6. Niemesh, Gregory T. & Shester, Katharine L., 2020. "Racial residential segregation and black low birth weight, 1970–2010," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Ayllón, Sara & Ferreira-Batista, Natalia N., 2015. "‘Mommy, I miss daddy’. The effect of family structure on children's health in Brazil," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 75-89.
    8. Buckles, Kasey, 2017. "Maternal Socio-Economic Status and the Well-Being of the Next Generation(s)," IZA Discussion Papers 10714, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Ho-Po Crystal WONG, 2016. "Credible Commitments and Marriage: When the Homemaker Gets her Share at Divorce," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(3), pages 241-279, September.
    10. Maryna Tverdostup & Tiiu Paas, 2019. "Valuation Of Human Capital And The Gender Wage Gap In Europe," University of Tartu - Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Working Paper Series 118, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Tartu (Estonia).
    11. Yuriy Pylypchuk & James B. Kirby, 2017. "The role of marriage in explaining racial and ethnic disparities in access to health care for men in the US," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 807-832, September.
    12. Laurie F. DeRose & Andrés Salazar-Arango & Paúl Corcuera García & Montserrat Gas-Aixendri & Reynaldo Rivera, 2017. "Maternal union instability and childhood mortality risk in the Global South, 2010–14," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 71(2), pages 211-228, May.
    13. Fletcher, Jason M. & Polos, Jessica, 2017. "Nonmarital and Teen Fertility," IZA Discussion Papers 10833, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Ho-Po Crystal Wong, 2014. "The Importance of Credible Commitments in Marriage: The Effect of Recognizing Homemakers’ Contribution in Property Division at Divorce in Law on Marital Formation and Dissolution," Working Papers 14-32, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marriage; Infant Health;

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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