Does unemployment worsen babies’ health? A tale of siblings, maternal behaviour, and selection
利用英格兰地区失业率的地理差异和同一母亲的兄弟姐妹比较，研究发现婴儿健康呈强顺周期性，但富裕地区婴儿在衰退期健康改善，而中低收入地区婴儿健康恶化，母亲饮酒、吸烟和产检延迟等行为是驱动因素。
We study in-utero exposure to economic fluctuations on birth outcomes by exploiting geographical variation in the unemployment rate across local areas in England, and by comparing siblings born to the same mother. Using rich individual data from hospital administrative records for 2003-2012, babies' health is found to be strongly pro-cyclical. This overall result masks marked differences between babies born in the most affluent areas whose health at birth improves in a recession, and babies born in the average-to-lowest income deprived areas whose health deteriorates. Maternal alcohol consumption, smoking, and delay in the first antenatal care assessment - combined with parental income loss, are found to drive the results. While differences in maternal risky behaviours can explain the heterogenous effects.