The Impact of Shortened Gestation Duration on Newborn’s Health: Using Ghost Month as An Experiment
2015/03/24
研討會日期 : 2015-03-24
時間 : 14:30
主講人 : Professor Elliott Fan
主持人 : Professor Stacey Chen
地點 : Conference Room B110
演講者簡介 : Professor Elliott Fan received his Ph.D. in Economics from University of Toronto in 2006. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics at National Taiwan University. His research fields are the Evaluating impacts of public social security programs, Household joint decisions, Dynamics of retirement decisions, Income transfers and living standard of immigrants, Mandatory military services and demographic changes.
演講摘要 : We exploit the effects on health at birth of shortened gestation length due to a cultural belief to avoid giving births in the Ghost Month in Taiwan. A sizable number of births have been found expedited from early lunar July to late lunar June every year during 2001 and 2011. Compared to those born in the first three weeks of June, births born in the last seven days of June are found lighter in birthweight, shorter in gestation period, and more likely to exhibit health complications at birth. We then use three variables – being due in the second week of July, the third week of July, and the fourth week of July – as instruments for gestation periods of 38, 37, and 36 weeks to estimate the effects of shortened gestation period on the newborns’ health. Our IV results suggest that shortening gestation length by a week does not lead to any significant health complications at birth, unless a birth is expedited to be born in the 36th week of gestation. These finding are in sharp contrast with OLS estimates, which suggest strong shortening effects on a set of health complications.
