Family Income and Birth Weight

Abstract

Previous research has shown that low birth weights have negative effects on outcomes throughout life. Using administrative data from the Israeli Ministry of Health and the Israeli National Insurance Institute, this study examines the relationship between family income and birth weights (for single births) in Israel between 1995 and 2007. Raw data displays a positive correlation between parents' socioeconomic characteristics, including income, and their children's birth weights. However, examining the effect of exogenous changes in family income – such as variations in the amount of child allowances – on birth weights, (including for the same mother), reveals that the causal relationship is for the most part statistically insignificant. Even when a statistically significant causal relationship is detected, it is weak and, according to the literature, would have no effect on life outcomes.