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Armed conflict and birth weight

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  • Le, Kien
  • Nguyen, My

Abstract

This paper investigates the hidden yet persistent cost of conflict to birth weight outcomes for 53 developing countries experiencing conflict in the past three decades (1990–2018). Exploiting the variation across districts and conception months-years, we find that intrauterine exposure to armed conflict in the first trimester of pregnancy reduces child's weight at birth by 2.8% and raises the incidence of low birth weight by 3.2 percentage points. Infants born to poor and low educated mothers are especially vulnerable to the adverse repercussions of armed conflict. Given the long-lasting consequences of poor infant health over the life cycle, our findings call for global efforts in the prevention and mitigation of conflict. Extra attention should be directed to children and women from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Suggested Citation

  • Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2020. "Armed conflict and birth weight," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:39:y:2020:i:c:s1570677x2030191x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2020.100921
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    Cited by:

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    2. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2021. "The Impacts of Temperature Shocks on Birth Weight in Vietnam," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(4), pages 1025-1047, December.
    3. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2022. "The impacts of rainfall shocks on birth weight in Vietnam," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 143-159, April.
    4. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2021. "Education and political engagement," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    5. Bove, Vincenzo & Di Salvatore, Jessica & Elia, Leandro & Nisticò, Roberto, 2024. "Mothers at peace: International peacebuilding and post-conflict fertility," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    6. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2023. "Armed conflicts and women's authority in intra‐household decision making," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 70(3), pages 249-267, July.
    7. Cortes, Darwin & Gómez, Catalina & Posso, Christian & Suarez, Gabriel, 2023. "Hunting Militias at All Cost: Urban Military Operation and Birth Outcomes," Documentos de Trabajo 20935, Universidad del Rosario.
    8. Olukorede Abiona & Joseph B. Ajefu, 2023. "The impact of timing of in utero drought shocks on birth outcomes in rural households: evidence from Sierra Leone," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1333-1362, July.
    9. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2022. "War and Intimate Partner Violence in Africa," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    10. Le Kien & Nguyen My, 2021. "How Education Empowers Women in Developing Countries," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 511-536, April.
    11. Shemyakina, Olga N., 2021. "Political violence and child health: Results from Zimbabwe," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    12. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2022. "Desert locust swarms and child health," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    13. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2021. "In-utero Exposure to Rainfall Variability and Early Childhood Health," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    14. Nguyen, My, 2020. "Mask Mandates and COVID-19 Related Symptoms in the US," MPRA Paper 109992, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Kien, Le, 2020. "Internet Access for Children’s Online Schooling during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Parental Mental Health," MPRA Paper 110579, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2020. "The Impacts of Temperature Shocks on Birth Weight in Vietnam," MPRA Paper 110325, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Suich, Helen & Pham, Trang & Yap, Mandy, 2024. "Individuals’ experiences of multidimensional poverty through the lenses of gender and age – Findings from South Africa," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).
    18. Goli, Srinivas & Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Rammohan, Anu & Vu, Loan, 2022. "Conflicts and son preference: Micro-level evidence from 58 countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    19. Le, Kien & Nguyen, My, 2020. "The Impacts of Armed Conflict on Child Health: Evidence from 56 Developing Countries," MPRA Paper 109896, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2023. "The impacts of armed conflict on child health: Evidence from 56 developing countries," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 60(2), pages 243-257, March.
    21. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2022. "The long-run impacts of paid maternity leave on height and educational attainment," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Armed conflict; Birth weight; Intergenerational effects; Developing countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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