Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/210930 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
IFN Working Paper No. 1289
Publisher: 
Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm
Abstract: 
In this study we examine the passage of a reform to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures in Sweden in 2003. Following publication of medical evidence showing that pregnancy success rates could be maintained using single rather than multiple embryo transfers, the single embryo transfer (SET) was mandated as the default IVF procedure. Using linked registry data for the period 1998-2007, we find that the SET reform was associated with a precipitous drop in the share of multiple births of 63%. This narrowed differences in health between IVF and non-IVF births by 53%, and differences in the labor market outcomes of mothers three years after birth by 85%. For first time mothers, it also narrowed the gap in maternal health between IVF and non-IVF births by 36%. Our findings imply that more widespread adoption of SET could lead to massive gains, reducing hospitalization costs and the foregone income of mothers and improving the long-run socioeconomic outcomes of children. This is important given that the share of IVF facilitated births exceeds 3% in several industrialized countries and is on the rise.
Subjects: 
IVF
Fertility
Maternal health
Neonatal health
Career penalty
Human capital formation
JEL: 
J13
I11
I12
I38
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
667.36 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.