American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Place Effects and Geographic Inequality in Health at Birth
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
(pp. 260–91)
Abstract
This paper uses birth records and mothers who move to quantify the absolute and relative importance of birth location for early-life health. Using a model that includes mother and location fixed effects, we find that moving from a below- to an above-median-birth-weight location leads to important improvements in child birth weight, with comparable magnitudes to policies targeting maternal health. Place effects are larger for longer-distance moves and more influential for children of non-college-educated mothers. We find that pollution is the strongest predictor of place effects on infant health.Citation
Chyn, Eric, and Na'ama Shenhav. 2025. "Place Effects and Geographic Inequality in Health at Birth." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 17 (4): 260–91. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20230011Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- I14 Health and Inequality
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- Q51 Valuation of Environmental Effects
- Q53 Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling