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Infant health production functions: what a difference the data make.
Nancy E Reichman1, Hope Corman, Kelly Noonan
1Department of Pediatrics, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA. reichmne@umdnj.edu
Health Economics
|September 16, 2008
Summary
Infant health production functions are sensitive to model specification. Self-reported data overestimates input effects, while unobserved variables have minimal impact on input estimates.
Area of Science:
- Health Economics
- Maternal and Child Health
- Econometrics
Background:
- Infant health production functions are crucial for understanding factors influencing child well-being.
- Model specification and measurement error can significantly impact the reliability of these functions.
- Typically unobserved variables (TUVs) and non-standard covariates (NSCs) are theoretically important but often omitted.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the sensitivity of infant health production functions to model specification and measurement error.
- To investigate the impact of typically unobserved variables (TUVs) and non-standard covariates (NSCs) on infant health outcomes.
- To compare the effects of self-reported versus combined input measures and different infant health outcome characterizations.
Main Methods:
- Estimation of infant health production functions using data on prenatal drug use, cigarette smoking, and first-trimester prenatal care.
- Comparison of input estimates derived from self-reported data versus combined medical record and self-report data.
- Analysis of birth weight, low birth weight, and abnormal infant health conditions as outcome measures.
Main Results:
- Typically unobserved variables (TUVs) and non-standard covariates (NSCs) are significantly linked to inputs and outcomes but do not substantially alter input estimates when excluded.
- Self-reported input data lead to overestimated effects of inputs, particularly prenatal care, on infant health outcomes.
- Direct infant health measures do not consistently produce similar input estimates compared to birth weight outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Infant health production function estimates are sensitive to data source (self-report vs. combined) and outcome measure choice.
- Accurate data collection and careful consideration of unobserved factors are vital for robust infant health research and policy.
- Findings inform best practices for research design, data collection strategies, and public health policy development in maternal and child health.
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