Special economic zone and infant mortality: Evidence from China
利用中国经济特区作为准自然实验，发现特区显著降低了当地婴儿死亡率，尤其对男婴和母亲受教育程度低的婴儿影响更大，主要通过提高收入而非改变生育行为或环境起作用。
By exploiting the development of special economic zones (SEZs) in China as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper evaluates how such zones affect infant mortality. Difference-in-differences analysis reveals that SEZs significantly decrease the local infant mortality rate, and the impact is larger for male infants and infants with less-educated mothers. Further studies show that the SEZs, which acts as an economic growth shock, improve infant survival by increasing the local income. Furthermore, there is no supportive evidence that the SEZs significantly alter either women's fertility-associated behaviors or environmental pollution. These results highlight the previously ignored human capital-related consequences of place-based policies in China.