Working Paper: NBER ID: w2746
Authors: Michael Grossman; Theodore J. Joyce
Abstract: This paper makes contributions to the estimation of health production functions and the economics of fertility control. We present the first infant health production functions that simultaneously control for self selection in the resolution of pregnancies as live births or induced abortions and in the use of prenatal medical care services. We also incorporate the decision of a pregnant woman to give birth or obtain an abortion into economic models of fertility control and use information conveyed by this decision to refine estimates of infant health production functions and demand functions for prenatal medical care.
Keywords: Health Production Functions; Fertility Control; Prenatal Care; Infant Health; Self-Selection
JEL Codes: I12; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| decision to give birth (J13) | unobserved factors (C29) |
| unobserved factors (C29) | pregnancy outcomes (J13) |
| poor fetal health endowments (I14) | likelihood of seeking abortions (J13) |
| significant investments in infants (J13) | likelihood of giving birth (J19) |
| health endowment of the fetus (I15) | likelihood of giving birth (J19) |
| health endowment of the fetus (I15) | prenatal care decisions (J13) |
| prices of contraception (P22) | probability of giving birth (J19) |
| prices of contraception (P22) | quantity of prenatal care demanded (J13) |
| prices of abortion (J13) | probability of giving birth (J19) |