Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/193399 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 12105
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We use a unique data set of linked birth records from Florida to analyze the intergenerational transmission of health at birth by parental gender. We show that both paternal and maternal birth weights significantly predict the child's birth weight even after accounting for all genetic and environmental factors that are common and time-invariant within a family. Our estimates reveal that a one standard deviation increase in mother's birth weight (535 grams) translates into a 0.13-0.23 standard deviations increase in child's birth weight (70-123 grams), accounting or not for maternal grandmother fixed effects. On the father's side, we find that a one standard deviation increase in father's birth weight (563 grams) translates into a 0.10-0.14 standard deviations increase in child's birth weight (51-73 grams), accounting or not for maternal grandmother fixed effects. The significant role of both maternal and paternal health at birth in explaining offspring health at birth is confirmed when using alternative metrics: intrauterine growth restriction, being small for gestational age, or being too heavy (i.e., macrosomic).
Subjects: 
intergenerational transmission
health capital
birth outcomes
gender
JEL: 
J1
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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