Skip Navigation


The World Bank Research Observer Advance Access originally published online on January 12, 2006
The World Bank Research Observer 2006 21(1):25-48; doi:10.1093/wbro/lkj001
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
21/1/25    most recent
lkj001v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Alderman, H.
Right arrow Articles by Behrman, J. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / THE WORLD BANK. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Reducing the Incidence of Low Birth Weight in Low-Income Countries Has Substantial Economic Benefits

Harold Alderman and Jere R. Behrman

Harold Alderman is a lead human development economist in the Africa Region of the World Bank; his e-mail address is halderman{at}worldbank.org. Jere R. Behrman is the William R. Kenan Jr Professor of Economics and a research associate of the Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania; his e-mail address is jbehrman{at}econ.upenn.edu.

Reducing the incidence of low birth weight not only lowers infant mortality rates but also has multiple benefits over the life cycle. This study estimates the economic benefits of reducing the incidence of low birth weight in low-income countries, both through lower mortality rates and medical costs and through increased learning and productivity. The estimated economic benefits, under plausible assumptions, are fairly substantial, at about $510 per infant moved from a low-birth-weight status. The estimated gains are primarily from increases in labor productivity (partially through more education) and secondarily from avoiding costs due to infant illness and death. Thus there may be many interventions to reduce the incidence of low birth weight that are warranted purely on the grounds of saving resources or increasing productivity.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Afr EconHome page
G. Mwabu
The Production of Child Health in Kenya: A Structural Model of Birth Weight
J. Afr. Econ., July 22, 2008; (2008) ejn013v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Nutr.Home page
H. Alderman, J. R. Behrman, and J. Hoddinott
Economic and Nutritional Analyses Offer Substantial Synergies for Understanding Human Nutrition
J. Nutr., March 1, 2007; 137(3): 537 - 544.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.