Do Cash Transfers Improve Birth Outcomes? Evidence from Matched Vital Statistics, Program and Social Security Data Verónica Amarante Marco Manacorda Universidad de la República, Uruguay Queen Mary University of London, CEP (LSE)
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[email protected] Edward Miguel Andrea Vigorito University of California Berkeley and NBER Universidad de la República, Uruguay
[email protected] [email protected] This version: March 2013 There is limited empirical evidence on whether cash social assistance to poor pregnant women improves children’s birth outcomes. Using a unique array of program and social security administrative micro-data matched to longitudinal vital statistics on the universe of births in Uruguay, we estimate that participation in a generous cash transfer program - on the order of 25 percent of household income - led to a sizeable reduction in the incidence of low birth weight, on the order of 17 to 19 percent. Effects are not driven by changes in fertility or other behavioral changes that we can detect in our data. We conclude that, by improving child health, cash transfers may help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, JEL codes: J88, I38, J13. Keywords : cash transfers, birthweight, Regression Discontinuity. Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Uruguay’s former Minister and Deputy Minister of Social Development, Marina Arismendi and Ana Olivera, respectively, and their staff, in particular Marianela Bertoni, Juan Pablo Labat and Lauro Meléndez at the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, for their invaluable support, and to other officials at the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Public Health, and the Social Security Administration ( Banco de Prevision Social ) for their help with the data and for clarifying many features of program design and implementation.