The Causal Effect of Increasing Area-Level Income on Birth Outcomes and Pregnancy-Related Health: Estimates From the Marcellus Shale Boom Economy.

ABSTRACT: Income is positively correlated with pregnancy health and birth outcomes, but the causal evidence for this association is limited. Leveraging a natural experiment based on the Pennsylvania boom economy created by the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale geological formation, we test whether area-level income gains impact birth outcomes (birth weight, gestational length, and preterm birth) and pregnancy health (prepregnancy and prenatal smoking, prepregnancy weight status, gestational weight gain, and the timing and adequacy of prenatal care). We append tax data to birth certificate data and compare health outcomes before and after the boom for births occurring in school districts above the Marcellus Shale. We also explore income effects with a subsample of siblings and test f

SUBMITTER: Martin MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12034299 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature