IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/applec/v39y2007i4p415-426.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Prenatal care and birthweight production: evidence from South America

Author

Listed:
  • R. Todd Jewell

Abstract

Research using US data has shown that increases in prenatal care have positive effects on birthweight and that the existence of unobserved health heterogeneity tends to reduce the measured effect of prenatal care. This study extends extant research to the South American countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia and Peru using data from the demographic and health surveys, finding a positive effect of increased prenatal care use on birthweight. Furthermore, the largest marginal effect of increased prenatal care use is found at low levels of usage. The results highlight both the usefulness of existing methodologies for estimating the effect of prenatal care on birthweight and the importance of extending these methodologies to data from countries other than the USA.

Suggested Citation

  • R. Todd Jewell, 2007. "Prenatal care and birthweight production: evidence from South America," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(4), pages 415-426.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:39:y:2007:i:4:p:415-426
    DOI: 10.1080/00036840500439028
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00036840500439028
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00036840500439028?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kai Li & Dale J. Poirier, 2003. "Bayesian analysis of an econometric model of birth inputs and outputs," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 16(3), pages 597-625, August.
    2. Maitra, Pushkar, 2004. "Parental bargaining, health inputs and child mortality in India," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 259-291, March.
    3. James Cramer, 1995. "Racial and Ethnic Differences in Birthweight: The Role of Income and Financial Assistance," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 32(2), pages 231-247, May.
    4. Grossman, Michael & Joyce, Theodore J, 1990. "Unobservables, Pregnancy Resolutions, and Birth Weight Production Functions in New York City," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 983-1007, October.
    5. Kotelchuck, M., 1994. "An evaluation of the Kessner Adequacy of Prenatal Care Index and a proposed Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization Index," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 84(9), pages 1414-1420.
    6. Panis, Constantijn W. A. & Lillard, Lee A., 1994. "Health inputs and child mortality: Malaysia," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 455-489.
    7. Blondel, B. & Kogan, M.D. & Alexander, G.R. & Dattani, N. & Kramer, M.S. & Macfarlane, A. & Wen, S.W., 2002. "The impact of the increasing number of multiple births on the rates of preterm birth and low birthweight: An international study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(8), pages 1323-1330.
    8. Mohamed Ali & John Cleland & Iqbal Shah, 2003. "Trends in reproductive behavior among young single women in Colombia and Peru: 1985–1999," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 40(4), pages 659-673, November.
    9. Theodore Joyce & Michael Grossman, 1990. "Pregnancy wantedness and the early initiation of prenatal care," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 27(1), pages 1-17, February.
    10. Deon Filmer & Lant Pritchett, 1999. "The Effect of Household Wealth on Educational Attainment: Evidence from 35 Countries," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 25(1), pages 85-120, March.
    11. W. Frisbie & Douglas Forbes & Starling Pullum, 1996. "Compromised birth outcomes and infant mortality among racial and ethnic groups," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 33(4), pages 469-481, November.
    12. Jeffrey J. Rous & R. Todd Jewell & Robert W. Brown, 2004. "The effect of prenatal care on birthweight: a full‐information maximum likelihood approach," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(3), pages 251-264, March.
    13. Evans, William N. & Lien, Diana S., 2005. "The benefits of prenatal care: evidence from the PAT bus strike," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 125(1-2), pages 207-239.
    14. Tomas J. Philipson & William H. Dow & Xavier Sala-i-Martin, 1999. "Longevity Complementarities under Competing Risks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1358-1371, December.
    15. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    16. Li, Kai & Poirier, Dale J., 2003. "An econometric model of birth inputs and outputs for Native Americans," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 113(2), pages 337-361, April.
    17. Guilkey, David K. & Popkin, Barry M. & Akin, John S. & Wong, Emelita L., 1989. "Prenatal care and pregnancy outcome in Cebu, Philippines," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 241-272, April.
    18. Mark R. Rosenzweig & T. Paul Schultz, 1988. "The Stability of Household Production Technology: A Replication," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 23(4), pages 535-549.
    19. Diewert, W E, 1971. "An Application of the Shephard Duality Theorem: A Generalized Leontief Production Function," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(3), pages 481-507, May-June.
    20. Alberto Palloni & Hantamala Rafalimanana, 1999. "The effects of infant mortality on fertility revisited: new evidence from latin america," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 36(1), pages 41-58, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Habibov, Nazim N. & Fan, Lida, 2011. "Does prenatal healthcare improve child birthweight outcomes in Azerbaijan? Results of the national Demographic and Health Survey," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 56-65, January.
    2. Laura Rodríguez, 2022. "Violence and newborn health: Estimates for Colombia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 112-136, January.
    3. David Mmopelwa, 2019. "Prenatal care utilization and infant health in Botswana," Discussion Papers 2019-09, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
    4. Habibov, Nazim & Cheung, Alex & Auchynnikava, Alena, 2017. "Does social trust increase willingness to pay taxes to improve public healthcare? Cross-sectional cross-country instrumental variable analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 25-34.
    5. Lautharte, Ildo, 2021. "Babies and Bandidos: Birth outcomes in pacified favelas of Rio de Janeiro," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    6. Wehby George L. & McCarthy Ann Marie & Castilla Eduardo & Murray Jeffrey C., 2011. "The Impact of Household Investments on Early Child Neurodevelopment and on Racial and Socioeconomic Developmental Gaps: Evidence from South America," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 1-60, December.
    7. Santosh Kumar & Fidel Gonzalez, 2020. "The Quantile effects of prenatal care on birth weight in Mexico," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(2), pages 1498-1507.
    8. Edward N. Okeke & Amalavoyal V. Chari, 2015. "Can Institutional Deliveries Reduce Newborn Mortality? Evidence from Rwanda," Working Papers WR-1072, RAND Corporation.
    9. George L. Wehby & Jeffrey C. Murray & Eduardo E. Castilla & Jorge S. Lopez‐Camelo & Robert L. Ohsfeldt, 2009. "Quantile effects of prenatal care utilization on birth weight in Argentina," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(11), pages 1307-1321, November.
    10. Ryan Brown, 2018. "The Mexican Drug War and Early-Life Health: The Impact of Violent Crime on Birth Outcomes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 319-340, February.
    11. Delajara, Marcelo & Wendelspiess Chávez Juárez, Florian, 2013. "Birthweight outcomes in Bolivia: The role of maternal height, ethnicity, and behavior," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 56-68.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. R. Todd Jewell & Patricia Triunfo, 2006. "Bajo peso al nacer en Uruguay: implicaciones para las políticas de salud," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 1706, Department of Economics - dECON.
    2. Ana I. Balsa & Patricia Triunfo, 2012. "The Effectiveness of Prenatal Care in a Low Income Population: A Panel Data Approach," Documentos de Trabajo/Working Papers 1204, Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales y Economia. Universidad de Montevideo..
    3. Todd Jewell & Patricia Triunfo & Rafael Aguirre, 2004. "Impacto de los cuidados Prenatales en el Peso al Nacer: El Caso del Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 0704, Department of Economics - dECON.
    4. Ana Inés Balsa & Patricia Triunfo, 2012. "¿Son los cuidados prenatales efectivos? Un enfoque con datos individuales de panel," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 0612, Department of Economics - dECON.
    5. Habibov, Nazim N. & Fan, Lida, 2011. "Does prenatal healthcare improve child birthweight outcomes in Azerbaijan? Results of the national Demographic and Health Survey," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 56-65, January.
    6. Hope Corman & Dhaval Dave & Nancy E. Reichman, 2018. "Evolution of the Infant Health Production Function," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(1), pages 6-47, July.
    7. Edward N. Okeke & Amalavoyal V. Chari, 2015. "Can Institutional Deliveries Reduce Newborn Mortality? Evidence from Rwanda," Working Papers WR-1072, RAND Corporation.
    8. Sonchak, Lyudmyla, 2015. "Medicaid reimbursement, prenatal care and infant health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 10-24.
    9. R. Todd Jewell & Patricia Triunfo, 2006. "The impact of prenatal care on birthweight: the case of Uruguay," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(11), pages 1245-1250, November.
    10. Tim Bersak & Lyudmyla Sonchak‐Ardan, 2022. "Prenatal care: Mechanisms and impacts on infant health and health care utilization," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(1), pages 48-65, January.
    11. Janet Currie & Lucia Nixon & Nancy Cole, 1993. "Restrictions on Medicaid Funding of Abortion: Effects on Pregnancy Resolutions and Birth Weight," NBER Working Papers 4432, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Jewell R. Todd & Patricia Triunfo & Rafael Aguirre, 2007. "El peso al nacer de los ninos de la principal maternidad de Uruguay: 1995 a 2004," Revista Desarrollo y Sociedad, Universidad de los Andes,Facultad de Economía, CEDE, February.
    13. Wehby, George L. & Murray, Jeffrey C. & Castilla, Eduardo E. & Lopez-Camelo, Jorge S. & Ohsfeldt, Robert L., 2009. "Prenatal care demand and its effects on birth outcomes by birth defect status in Argentina," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 84-95, March.
    14. Cygan-Rehm, Kamila & Karbownik, Krzysztof, 2022. "The effects of incentivizing early prenatal care on infant health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    15. Nancy E. Reichman & Hope Corman & Kelly Noonan & Dhaval Dave, 2006. "Typically Unobserved Variables (TUVs) and Selection into Prenatal Inputs: Implications for Estimating Infant Health Production Functions," NBER Working Papers 12004, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Aparna Lhila & Kosali Simon, 2008. "Prenatal health investment decisions: Does the child’s sex matter?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(4), pages 885-905, November.
    17. Arrieta, Alejandro & García-Prado, Ariadna & Guillén, Jorge, 2011. "The Private Health Care Sector and the Provision of Prenatal Care Services in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 579-587, April.
    18. José‐Ignacio Antón & Zuleika Ferre & Patricia Triunfo, 2018. "The impact of the legalisation of abortion on birth outcomes in Uruguay," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(7), pages 1103-1119, July.
    19. David Mmopelwa, 2019. "Prenatal care utilization and infant health in Botswana," Discussion Papers 2019-09, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
    20. Ruhm, Christopher J., 2000. "Parental leave and child health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 931-960, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:39:y:2007:i:4:p:415-426. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RAEC20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.