The returns to early-life interventions for very low birth weight children

Eric Chyn; Samantha Gold; Justine Hastings

doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102400

The returns to early-life interventions for very low birth weight children

J Health Econ. 2021 Jan:75:102400. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102400. Epub 2020 Dec 4.

Authors

Eric Chyn¹, Samantha Gold², Justine Hastings³

Affiliations

¹ Dartmouth College, RIPL, NBER, United States. Electronic address: eric.t.chyn@dartmouth.edu.
² RIPL, United States. Electronic address: sgold@ripl.org.
³ Brown University, RIPL, NBER, United States. Electronic address: justine_hastings@brown.edu.

PMID: 33360075
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102400

Abstract

We use comprehensive administrative data from Rhode Island to measure the impact of early-life interventions for low birth weight newborns. Our analysis relies on a regression discontinuity design based on the 1,500 g threshold for Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) status. We find that threshold crossing causes more intense in-hospital care, in line with prior studies. In terms of later-life outcomes, we show that threshold crossing causes a 0.34 standard deviation increase in test scores in elementary and middle school, a 17.1 percentage point increase in the probability of college enrollment, and a $66,997 decrease in social program expenditures by age 14.

Keywords: Early-life interventions; Medical care.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Birth Weight
Child
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Very Low Birth Weight*
Schools*