Financial Incentives, the Timing of Births, Birth Complications, and Newborns Health: Evidence from the Abolition of Austrias Baby Bonus
We analyze the fertility and health effects resulting from the abolition of the Austrian baby bonus in January 1997. The abolition of the benefit was publicly announced about ten months in advance, creating the opportunity for prospective parents to (re-)schedule conceptions accordingly. We find robust evidence that, within the month before the abolition, about 8% more children were born as a result of (re-)scheduling conceptions. At the same time, there is no evidence that mothers deliberately manipulated the date of birth through medical intervention. We also find a substantial and significant increase in the fraction of birth complications, but no evidence for any resulting adverse effects on newborns' health.
Year of publication: |
2011
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Authors: | Brunner, Beatrice ; Kuhn, Andreas |
Publisher: |
Linz : Johannes Kepler University Linz, NRN - The Austrian Center for Labor Economics and the Analysis of the Welfare State |
Subject: | baby bonus | scheduling of conceptions | timing of births | policy announcement | abolition effect | birth complications | medical intervention |
Saved in:
freely available
Series: | |
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Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Type of publication (narrower categories): | Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Other identifiers: | 836348680 [GVK] hdl:10419/115072 [Handle] RePEc:jku:nrnwps:2011_16 [RePEc] |
Classification: | H31 - Household ; J13 - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth |
Source: |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011310744