School entry policies, maternal education, and pregnancy outcomes: New causal evidence

Despite growing research interest in school entry policies, their effects on newborn well-being remain underexplored. This study provides new causal evidence using restricted birth data from three states, based on the 2003 revision of birth certificate instruments. Our normalized-and-pooled regression discontinuity analysis shows that young mothers born just after the school entry cutoff have significantly lower levels of education than those born just before. These women also tend to experience poorer birth outcomes, including a modest reduction in birth weight and higher risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes, though the strength and precision of these estimated effects vary across states. Maternal health behaviors, insurance coverage, and paternal age emerge as important channels for these intergenerational health effects.