Alderman, HaroldBehrman, Jere R.2013-12-192013-12-192006-01-12World Bank Research Observerdoi:10.1093/wbro/lkj001https://hdl.handle.net/10986/16397Reducing 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.en-USCC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGOADULT HEALTHADULT POPULATIONAGEDANEMIAANXIETYBABIESBABYBACTERIAL INFECTIONSBEHAVIORAL OUTCOMESBIRTH SPACINGBLINDBREASTFEEDINGBULLETINCARDIOVASCULAR DISEASECAREGIVERSCHILD CARECHILD HEALTHCHILDBEARINGCHILDBEARING AGECHILDHOODCHILDHOOD ILLNESSCHOLESTEROLCHRONIC DISEASECHRONIC DISEASESCHRONIC ILLNESSESCORONARY HEART DISEASECORONARY HEART DISEASESDEATH RATEDEHYDRATIONDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDIABETESDIARRHEADIETDISEASE CONTROLDISEASESDRUGSEARLY CHILDHOODEARLY DEATHECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITYEFFECTIVE VACCINESEPIDEMIOLOGYFEMALESFETUSFOOD SUPPLEMENTSGENERATION OF CHILDRENGYNECOLOGYHEALTH INTERVENTIONSHEALTH SECTORHIGH BLOOD PRESSUREHIVHOME CAREHOSPITALHOSPITALIZATIONHOSPITALSHUMAN BIOLOGYHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUSHYPERTENSIONILLNESSESIMMUNODEFICIENCYINDIVIDUAL NEEDSINFANCYINFANTINFANT DEATHINFANT ILLNESSINFANT MORTALITYINFANT MORTALITY RATESINFANTSINFECTIONSINFECTIOUS DISEASESINTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTEINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGYINTERVENTIONINTRAUTERINE GROWTH RETARDATIONINVESTMENTS IN EDUCATIONIRONLABOR MARKETLEARNINGLIFE CYCLELIVE BIRTHSLOW BIRTH WEIGHTLOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTSLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESLOW-INCOME COUNTRYLOW-INCOME POPULATIONSLUNG DISEASEMALARIAMALNUTRITIONMATERNAL HEALTHMATERNAL MORTALITYMEASLESMEASLES IMMUNIZATIONMEDICAL ATTENTIONMEDICAL CAREMEDICINEMETABOLISMMORALITYMORBIDITYMORTALITY RATEMOTHERMULTIPLE BIRTHSNEONATAL CARENEONATAL DEATHNEONATAL MORTALITYNEWBORNNEWBORNSNUTRITION INTERVENTIONSOBSTETRICSOUTPATIENT CAREOXYGENPARASITIC DISEASEPEDIATRICSPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONPHYSICAL WORKPNEUMONIAPOLICY RESEARCHPOOR HEALTHPOOR NUTRITIONPOPULATION STUDIESPREGNANCYPREGNANCY OUTCOMESPREGNANT WOMANPRETERM BIRTHPROGRESSPURCHASING POWERPURCHASING POWER PARITYRANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALSRESPIRATORY DISEASERISK OF ILLNESSSCHIZOPHRENIASEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONSSIBLINGSSMOKINGSOCIAL MARKETINGSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIOECONOMIC FACTORSSOCIOECONOMIC STATUSSTUNTED CHILDRENSTUNTINGTEENSTREATMENTUNDERNUTRITIONUNEMPLOYMENTURINARY TRACT INFECTIONSVITAMIN AVITAMIN A SUPPLEMENTATIONWEIGHT GAINWORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATIONYOUNG ADULTYOUNG CHILDRENJournal ArticleWorld Bank10.1596/16397