title: Fear itself: The effects of distressing economic news on birth outcomes.
abstract: I use new administrative data on mass layoffs and plant closings to study the effects of distressing economic news. Exposure to stressful events during pregnancy can impair fetal development. I find that announcement of impending job losses leads to a transient decrease in the mean birth weight within the firm's county one to four months before the job losses. A loss of 500 jobs corresponds roughly to a decrease of 15-20g and 16 percent greater risk of low birth weight. Layoffs announced late in pregnancy are most strongly linked to decreased birth outcomes.
authors: Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, MC 228-77, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91106, United States. Electronic address: kcarlson@caltech.edu.
authors: Kyle
authors: K
authors: Carlson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016208:Databases, Factual; D057172:Economic Recession; D005239:Fear; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Birth outcomes; Birth weight; Gestational age; Health; Stress