Working Paper: NBER ID: w8836
Authors: William J. Collins; Melissa A. Thomasson
Abstract: This paper examines the racial gap in infant mortality rates from 1920 to 1970. Using state-level panel data with information on income, urbanization, women's education, and physicians per capita, we can account for a large portion of the racial gap in infant mortality rates between 1920 and 1945, but a smaller portion thereafter. We re-examine the post-war period in light of trends in birth weight, smoking, air pollution, breast-feeding, insurance, and hospital births.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I12; J15; N32
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| income (E25) | healthcare consumption (I11) |
| education (I29) | healthcare consumption (I11) |
| urban residence (R29) | healthcare consumption (I11) |
| supply of physicians (I11) | healthcare consumption (I11) |
| healthcare consumption (I11) | infant mortality rates (J13) |
| income (E25) | infant mortality rates (J13) |
| education (I29) | infant mortality rates (J13) |
| urban residence (R29) | infant mortality rates (J13) |
| supply of physicians (I11) | infant mortality rates (J13) |
| smoking (L66) | infant mortality rates (J13) |
| air pollution (Q53) | infant mortality rates (J13) |
| birth weight (J13) | infant mortality rates (J13) |
| breastfeeding (J13) | infant mortality rates (J13) |
| insurance coverage (G52) | infant mortality rates (J13) |
| hospital births (J13) | infant mortality rates (J13) |