Publication: Estimated Economic Benefits of Reducing Low Birth Weight in Low-Income Countries
Date
2004-04
ISSN
Published
2004-04
Author(s)
Alderman, Harold
Behrman, Jere R.
Abstract
The paper reviews the evidence on the
link between low birth weight (LBW) and health outcomes and
economic productivity. The overall benefits depend both on
the economic environment and the manner in which future
streams of income are discounted. Thus, the sensitivities of
the overall estimates to different discount rates and to
different assumptions about each of the component estimates
are explored. Under plausible assumptions for low income
countries, the economic benefits from reducing LBW are
fairly substantial, on the order of magnitude of about $580
per infant moved from the LBW to non LBW category. Varying
the assumptions used will affect the total as well as the
relative share of the seven categories, but under most
assumptions the benefits far exceed the costs of known interventions.
Citation
“Alderman, Harold; Behrman, Jere R.. 2004. Estimated Economic Benefits of Reducing Low Birth Weight in Low-Income Countries. HNP discussion paper;. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/5797091a-f485-573f-8272-e6e3e8d87093 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”