Estimated Economic Benefits of Reducing Low Birth Weight in Low-Income Countries

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. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Alderman, Harold, Behrman, Jere R.
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2013
Subjects:	MACROECONOMIC STABILITY MACROECONOMIC STABILIZATION MARKET PRICES MILITARY EXPENDITURES NATIONAL ACCOUNTS NATIONAL ACCOUNTS STATISTICS NATIONS OUTCOME INDICATORS PER CAPITA INCOME PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT POLITICAL ECONOMY POLITICAL INSTABILITY PORTFOLIO POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY LEVEL POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PRESIDENCY PRIVATE INVESTMENT PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION PRIVATIZATION PRODUCTIVITY PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM OBJECTIVES PROGRAM OUTCOMES PROGRAMS PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC DEBT PUBLIC EXPENDITURE PUBLIC EXPENDITURE MANAGEMENT PUBLIC EXPENDITURE REVIEW PUBLIC FINANCE PUBLIC FINANCES PUBLIC SECTOR PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM PUBLIC SERVICES QUALITY ASSURANCE REFORM AGENDA REFORM PROGRAM REPRESENTATIVES RESOURCE MANAGEMENT RESOURCE MOBILIZATION RETURN ON ASSETS RETURN ON EQUITY REVENUE COLLECTION REVENUE MOBILIZATION RISK MANAGEMENT RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS SAVINGS SECTORAL ALLOCATION SERVICE DELIVERY SOCIAL INDICATORS HIGH-RISK HYGIENE HYPERTENSION ILL HEALTH ILL-HEALTH ILLICIT DRUGS INCREASE IN MORTALITY INDUSTRIAL REGION INFECTIOUS DISEASE INJECTING DRUG USE INJECTING DRUG USERS INJURIES LIFE EXPECTANCY LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH LIFESTYLES LOW INCOME MALES MEDICAL ATTENTION MEDICAL CONDITIONS MEDICAL TREATMENT MENTAL MENTAL DISORDERS MORBIDITY MORTALITY MORTALITY RATE MORTALITY RATES MOTOR VEHICLES NEGATIVE IMPACT NEGATIVE POPULATION GROWTH NUTRITION OBESITY OLDER PEOPLE OUTDOOR AIR POLLUTION OVERWEIGHT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY POLLUTION POPULATION DECREASE POPULATION DYNAMICS POPULATION GROWTH RATES POPULATION STRUCTURE PREMATURE DEATH PREMATURE MORTALITY PREVENTIVE MEDICINE PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM QUALITY OF LIFE REGULAR EXERCISE REPLACEMENT LEVEL REPRODUCTIVE AGE
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2004/04/6685329/estimated-economic-benefits-reducing-low-birth-weight-low-income-countries http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13675

Description
Summary:	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.

Estimated Economic Benefits of Reducing Low Birth Weight in Low-Income Countries

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