Janet Currie - Princeton University
Weathering the Storm: The Effects of Hurricanes on Birth Outcomes in Texas
Date: 03/22/2012 (Thu)
Time: 3:30pm- 5:00pm
Location: Seminar will be held on-site: Rhodes Conference Rm. Sanford School of Public Policy
Organizer: Joe Hotz
Meeting Schedule: Login or email the organizer to schedule a meeting.
All meetings will be held in the same location as the seminar unless otherwise noted.
9:00am - Duncan Thomas
9:30am - Seth Sanders
10:00am - Joe Hotz
10:30am - Liz Ananat
11:00am - Hugh Macartney
11:30am - Marjorie McElroy
12:00pm - Lunch: Chris Timmins & Subhrendu Pattanayak
1:00pm - Meetings with Econ & DuPRI Ph.D. students (Sarah Fuller, Wendy Brynildsen)
1:30pm - Pat Bayer
2:00pm - Ryan Brown
2:30pm - Evan Peet
3:00pm - Seminar Prep
3:30pm - Seminar Presentation (3:30pm to 5:00pm)
5:00pm - Manoj Mohanan
5:30pm - OPEN
6:00pm - Currie departs for RDU
Additional Comments: Abstract: A growing literature suggests that stressful events in pregnancy can have negative effects on birth outcomes. Some of the estimates in this literature may be affected by small samples, omitted variables, endogenous mobility in response to disasters, and errors in the measurement of gestation, as well as by a mechanical correlation between longer gestation and the probability of having been exposed. We use millions of individual birth records from Texas to examine the effects of exposure to hurricanes during pregnancy. The data allow us to measure outcomes precisely and to follow the same mother over time; we also suggest estimation methods that correct for omitted unobserved fixed characteristics of the mother, endogenous moving in response to storms, and the above mentioned correlation between gestation length and exposure. We find that exposure to a hurricane during pregnancy increases the probability of complications of labor and delivery, and of abnormal conditions of the newborn such as being on a ventilator more than 30 minutes and meconium aspiration syndrome. Although we do not directly measure stress, our results are supportive of the idea that stressful events in pregnancy can damage the health of the fetus. However our results suggest that the effects may be subtle and not readily apparent in terms of widely-used metrics such as birth weight and gestation.