Reducing the Incidence of Low Birth Weight in Low-Income Countries Has Substantial Economic Benefits

Reducing the incidence of low birth weight not only lowers infant mortality rates but also has multiple benefits over the life cycle. This study estimates the economic benefits of reducing the incidence of low birth weight in low-income countries, both through lower mortality rates and medical costs and through increased learning and productivity. The estimated economic benefits, under plausible assumptions, are fairly substantial, at about $510 per infant moved from a low-birth-weight status. The estimated gains are primarily from increases in labor productivity (partially through more education) and secondarily from avoiding costs due to infant illness and death. Thus there may be many interventions to reduce the incidence of low birth weight that are warranted purely on the grounds of saving resources or increasing productivity.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Alderman, Harold, Behrman, Jere R.
Format:	Journal Article biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank 2006-01-12
Subjects:	ADULT HEALTH, ADULT POPULATION, AGED, ANEMIA, ANXIETY, BABIES, BABY, BACTERIAL INFECTIONS, BEHAVIORAL OUTCOMES, BIRTH SPACING, BLIND, BREASTFEEDING, BULLETIN, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, CAREGIVERS, CHILD CARE, CHILD HEALTH, CHILDBEARING, CHILDBEARING AGE, CHILDHOOD, CHILDHOOD ILLNESS, CHOLESTEROL, CHRONIC DISEASE, CHRONIC DISEASES, CHRONIC ILLNESSES, CORONARY HEART DISEASE, CORONARY HEART DISEASES, DEATH RATE, DEHYDRATION, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DIABETES, DIARRHEA, DIET, DISEASE CONTROL, DISEASES, DRUGS, EARLY CHILDHOOD, EARLY DEATH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY, EFFECTIVE VACCINES, EPIDEMIOLOGY, FEMALES, FETUS, FOOD SUPPLEMENTS, GENERATION OF CHILDREN, GYNECOLOGY, HEALTH INTERVENTIONS, HEALTH SECTOR, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HIV, HOME CARE, HOSPITAL, HOSPITALIZATION, HOSPITALS, HUMAN BIOLOGY, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS, HYPERTENSION, ILLNESSES, IMMUNODEFICIENCY, INDIVIDUAL NEEDS, INFANCY, INFANT, INFANT DEATH, INFANT ILLNESS, INFANT MORTALITY, INFANT MORTALITY RATES, INFANTS, INFECTIONS, INFECTIOUS DISEASES, INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, INTERVENTION, INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RETARDATION, INVESTMENTS IN EDUCATION, IRON, LABOR MARKET, LEARNING, LIFE CYCLE, LIVE BIRTHS, LOW BIRTH WEIGHT, LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS, LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES, LOW-INCOME COUNTRY, LOW-INCOME POPULATIONS, LUNG DISEASE, MALARIA, MALNUTRITION, MATERNAL HEALTH, MATERNAL MORTALITY, MEASLES, MEASLES IMMUNIZATION, MEDICAL ATTENTION, MEDICAL CARE, MEDICINE, METABOLISM, MORALITY, MORBIDITY, MORTALITY RATE, MOTHER, MULTIPLE BIRTHS, NEONATAL CARE, NEONATAL DEATH, NEONATAL MORTALITY, NEWBORN, NEWBORNS, NUTRITION INTERVENTIONS, OBSTETRICS, OUTPATIENT CARE, OXYGEN, PARASITIC DISEASE, PEDIATRICS, PERSONAL COMMUNICATION, PHYSICAL WORK, PNEUMONIA, POLICY RESEARCH, POOR HEALTH, POOR NUTRITION, POPULATION STUDIES, PREGNANCY, PREGNANCY OUTCOMES, PREGNANT WOMAN, PRETERM BIRTH, PROGRESS, PURCHASING POWER, PURCHASING POWER PARITY, RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS, RESPIRATORY DISEASE, RISK OF ILLNESS, SCHIZOPHRENIA, SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS, SIBLINGS, SMOKING, SOCIAL MARKETING, SOCIAL SERVICES, SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, STUNTED CHILDREN, STUNTING, TEENS, TREATMENT, UNDERNUTRITION, UNEMPLOYMENT, URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS, VITAMIN A, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENTATION, WEIGHT GAIN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, YOUNG ADULT, YOUNG CHILDREN,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2006/01/17590622/reducing-incidence-low-birth-weight-low-income-countries-substantial-economic-benefits https://hdl.handle.net/10986/16397
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