Birth weight and the dynamics of early cognitive and behavioural development

Arbeitspapier

In this paper we explore the impact of birth weight on children's cognitive and behavioural outcomes using data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. In order to deal with the endogeneity of birth weight we use an estimator based on the eliminant method. When coupled with ordinary least squares, this estimator allows us to bound the effects of birth weight. The results show that birth weight has significant but very small effects on male cognitive development at age 3 and on female cognitive and behavioural outcomes at age 3. We also find that birth weight affects age 5 outcomes only through previous achievements, and that the overall impact fades out over time. These findings call into question the effectiveness of birth weight as a policy target.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 4270

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Medizin, Gesundheit ; Health Behavior ; Analysis of Education ; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
• Subject: Birth weight ; production function ; child development ; Kinder ; Anthropologie ; Gesundheit ; Kognition ; Persönlichkeitspsychologie ; Großbritannien

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Del Bono, Emilia ; Ermisch, John
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2009

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/36252
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2009081067
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET