Multigenerational Impacts of Childhood Access to the Safety Net: Early Life Exposure to Medicaid and the Next Generation’s Health
利用美国各州产前医疗补助资格大幅扩大的政策变化，研究发现母亲在胎儿期享受医疗补助会改善其子女出生时的健康，表明早期健康投资的回报可能被严重低估。
We examine multigenerational impacts of positive in utero health interventions using a new research design that exploits sharp increases in prenatal Medicaid eligibility that occurred in some states. Our analyses are based on US Vital Statistics natality files, which enables linkages between individuals’ early life Medicaid exposure and the next generation’s health at birth. We find evidence that the health benefits associated with treated generations’ early life program exposure extend to later offspring. Our results suggest that the returns on early life health investments may be substantively underestimated.