Why Is Infant Mortality Higher in the United States Than in Europe?
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 8,
no. 2, May 2016
(pp. 89-124)
Abstract
The United States has higher infant mortality than peer countries. In this paper, we combine microdata from the United States with similar data from four European countries to investigate this US infant mortality disadvantage. The US disadvantage persists after adjusting for potential differential reporting of births near the threshold of viability. While the importance of birth weight varies across comparison countries, relative to all comparison countries the United States has similar neonatal (<1 month) mortality but higher postneonatal (1–12 months) mortality. We document similar patterns across census divisions within the United States. The postneonatal mortality disadvantage is driven by poor birth outcomes among lower socioeconomic status individuals. (JEL I12, I14, I32, J14)Citation
Chen, Alice, Emily Oster, and Heidi Williams. 2016. "Why Is Infant Mortality Higher in the United States Than in Europe?" American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 8 (2): 89-124. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20140224Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- I14 Health and Inequality
- I32 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
- J14 Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
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