The Weight of the Crisis: Evidence from Newborns in Argentina

49 Pages Posted: 8 Nov 2010

See all articles by Carlos Bozzoli

Carlos Bozzoli

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)

Climent Quintana-Domeque

University of Oxford

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Abstract

Argentina hit headlines around the world in 2002 on account of the largest debt default in history and a sudden economic collapse that generated statistics reminiscent of those from the Great Depression. In this article we focus on other consequences of the crisis that are not so obvious but that may linger for decades. Combining macroeconomic indicators with the Argentine national registry of live births (approximately 1.9 million from 2001 through 2003), we show that the crisis led to an average birth-weight loss of 30 grams. Our estimate is robust to different identification strategies. This deterioration in birth weight occurred in only about six months, and represents one-sixth of the difference in average birth weight between American and Pakistani babies. We also find that the crisis affected particularly the weight of babies born of mothers of low socioeconomic status. In an attempt to estimate the long-term economic costs of the crisis, we simulate the average loss of future individual earnings due to the reduction in average birth weight: about $500 per live birth.

Keywords: economic crisis, birth weight, Argentina

JEL Classification: I1, J1

Suggested Citation

Bozzoli, Carlos and Quintana-Domeque, Climent, The Weight of the Crisis: Evidence from Newborns in Argentina. IZA Discussion Paper No. 5294, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1704267 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1704267

Carlos Bozzoli (Contact Author)

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) ( email )

Mohrenstraße 58
Berlin, 10117
Germany

Climent Quintana-Domeque

University of Oxford ( email )

Mansfield Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4AU
United Kingdom

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