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The infant health effects of starting universal child benefits in pregnancy: evidence from England and Wales

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  • Reader, Mary

Abstract

Child benefits are typically paid from birth. This paper asks whether starting universal child benefits in pregnancy leads to improvements in infant health. Leveraging administrative birth registry and hospital microdata from England and Wales, I study the effects of the Health in Pregnancy Grant, a universal conditional cash transfer equivalent to three months of child benefit (190 GBP) as a lump sum to pregnant mothers from 2009 to 2011. I exploit quasi-experimental variation in eligibility with a regression discontinuity design in the date of birth of the baby. I find that the policy increased birth weight by 8–12 grams on average, reduced low birth weight (

Suggested Citation

  • Reader, Mary, 2023. "The infant health effects of starting universal child benefits in pregnancy: evidence from England and Wales," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118458, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:118458
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/118458/
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    Cited by:

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    2. Helena Arruda & Rudi Rocha, 2024. "Political Turnover and Fatal Government Transitions," Working Papers 19, Instituto de Estudos para Políticas de Saúde.
    3. Sulin Sardoschau, 2024. "In utero exposure to violence and child health in Iraq," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 1-31, June.
    4. Sulin Sardoschau, 2023. "In-utero Exposure to Violence and Child Health in Iraq," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 452, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    5. Doyle, Mary-Alice, 2023. "Seasonal patterns in newborns’ health: quantifying the roles of climate, communicable disease, economic and social factors," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 119971, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Mark Bigool, 2024. "Effects of free maternal healthcare on stunting in children under five years of age: Evidence from Ghana," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 42(4), July.
    7. Doyle, Mary-Alice, 2023. "Seasonal patterns in newborns’ health: Quantifying the roles of climate, communicable disease, economic and social factors," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    birth weight; infant health; cash transfer; child benefit; STICERD; Department of Social Policy Titmuss Meinhardt research fund;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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