Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in the Us to Study the Birth Process: A Bayesian Approach

U of British Columbia Working Paper No. UBCFIN01-1

Sauder School of Business Working Paper

16 Pages Posted: 29 Jul 2001

See all articles by Kai Li

Kai Li

University of British Columbia (UBC) - Sauder School of Business; Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER); China Academy of Financial Research (CAFR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Canadian Sustainable Finance Network (CSFN)

Dale J. Poirier

University of California, Irvine

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 2001

Abstract

This paper employs the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in the US to study the birth process. We develop a simultaneous equations model with seven endogenous variables: four birth inputs (maternal smoking, maternal drinking, first trimester prenatal care, and maternal weight gain), three birth outputs (gestational age, birth length, and birth weight), and twenty-four exogenous variables. The estimation is Bayesian. Separate analyses are performed on five different groups: Main Whites, Supplemental Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. In all groups, we find sizeable correlation between the disturbances in the four input and three output equations and among output disturbances. For gestation, the effect of maternal weight is positive and substantial, while the effect of maternal age is consistently negative and substantial for Main Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. The effects of smoking, drinking, prenatal care, and weight gain vary in sign and magnitude across the groups. For birth length, male infants are on average longer. The effect of maternal height is noticeable but small in magnitude, and the effect of maternal weight is noticeable only for Main Whites. The effect of smoking is consistently negative, and substantial for Main and Supplemental Whites. The effects of drinking and prenatal care vary across the groups. Both weight gain and gestation have consistently positive effects. For birth weight, male infants are on average heavier except Hispanics. The effect of maternal height is noticeable for Main Whites and Hispanics. The effect of maternal weight is noticeable and consistent across the groups. The effect of smoking is consistently negative, and substantial for Main and Supplemental Whites. The effects of drinking and prenatal care are small and vary across the groups. Weight gain has a small positive effect except Supplemental Whites. The effect of gestation is positive and fairly comparable across the groups.

Keywords: birth length, birth weight, drinking, gestation, NLSY, prenatal care, simultaneity, smoking, weight gain

JEL Classification: C11, C34, I12, J13

Suggested Citation

Li, Kai and Poirier, Dale J., Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in the Us to Study the Birth Process: A Bayesian Approach (July 2001). U of British Columbia Working Paper No. UBCFIN01-1, Sauder School of Business Working Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=277518 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.277518

Kai Li (Contact Author)

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Dale J. Poirier

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