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The World Bank Research Observer Advance Access published online on January 12, 2006
The World Bank Research Observer, doi:10.1093/wbro/lkj001
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© 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

Article

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

Harold Alderman * and Jere R. Behrman

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Harold Alderman, E-mail: halderman{at}worldbank.org


  Abstract

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.


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