Working Paper: NBER ID: w28382
Authors: Michael Baker
Abstract: While there is a large literature on gender differences in important childhood developmental inputs in developing countries, the evidence for developed countries is relatively limited. I investigate gender differences in some of these inputs in the US and Canada. In the US very low birthweight males face excess mortality compared to their female counterparts. I provide evidence that the previously documented increase in mortality with the withdrawal of critical care at the Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) threshold is primarily for boys. The fact that the critical care of both boys and girls changes discretely at this threshold suggests a possible misallocation of scarce hospital resources. In the US first born girls are breastfed longer than first born males, but the difference is so small that it is unlikely to have any consequence. Finally, mothers in the US and Canada are more likely to experience depression post birth when the first born child is a boy. Perhaps related, the parenting of first born boys in Canada in the first years of life is more likely to be confrontational.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I14; J16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| gender differences in formative inputs (J21) | child development outcomes (J13) |
| very low birth weight males (J79) | higher mortality rates (I12) |
| withdrawal of critical care (I11) | higher mortality rates for very low birth weight males (J17) |
| gender (J16) | survival rates (C41) |
| first-born girls (J13) | longer breastfeeding duration (C41) |
| first-born boy (J13) | higher rates of maternal depression (J12) |
| first-born boy (J13) | confrontational parenting style (J12) |