Civil conflict, gender-specific fetal loss, and selection: A new test of the Trivers–Willard hypothesis

Abstract

A sizeable economics literature explores the effect of prenatal shocks on later health or socioeconomic status. Work in other disciplines, following the seminal contribution of Trivers & Willard (1973), suggests that prenatal shocks may increase fetal loss and reduce the number of boys relative to girls at birth. This has been largely ignored in the economics literature and could affect the interpretation of estimates of the effect of prenatal shocks and that of gender in other applied economics contexts. This paper analyzes the effect of in utero exposure to a shock -civil conflict in Nepal -on (i) fetal loss, and (ii) gender and (iii) health at birth. Maternal fixed effects estimates show that exposed pregnancies are more likely to result in a miscarriage and in a female birth, but exposed newborns are neither smaller nor more subject to neonatal mortality.JEL codes: I10, J13, O15

Relation between maternal antenatal anxiety and infants' weight depends on infants' sex: A longitudinal study from late gestation to 1-month post birth

“…At the same time, these survivors may either be vulnerable to pathology because of mothers’ lack of investment or they may show improved development and high indices of good health, in keeping with their size and shown capacity to survive gestational cuts [17]. Evidence to support these predictions among humans comes from studies using a wide range of stressors [e.g., 21,22,23,24,25], although findings from the literature, taken as a whole, are mixed [see review in 26]. …”

Should Aid Reward Performance? Evidence from a Field Experiment on Health and Education in Indonesia

“…The fact that reductions in neonatal mortality did not persist with incentives could be an indicator of multitasking problems (e.g. midwives in the incentivized group performed more prenatal care visits and weight checks, which were monitored, but perhaps lower quality prenatal care), or it could be because the improvements in prenatal care and maternal nutrition led some pregnancies that would have ended in miscarriage to survive through to birth, decreasing the health of those who survive to be born (Huang et al 2013; Valente 2013). We cannot definitely distinguish between these hypotheses.…”

“…The closest papers that pay particular attention to selection effects occurring through early miscarriage (i.e. in utero selection vs. selection via early childhood mortality) are Huang et al (2012), which studies this issue in the context of the Chinese famine, and Valente (2013), which studies the impact of civil conflict in Nepal. …”

Humanitarian Crises and Adolescent Well‐being: Knowledge, Gaps, and Prospects

“…In Tajikistan, girls affected by conflict are 13 percentage points less likely to be enrolled in school (Shemyakina, 2011). Negative effects of conflict on health outcomes are also widely reported, including on stunting (i.e., height-for-age z scores), birthweight, fetal loss, and infant mortality (Bundervoet et al, 2009;Akresh et al, 2011Akresh et al, , 2012bAkresh et al, , 2016Mansour and Rees, 2012;Minoiu and Shemyakina, 2014;Valente, 2015;Dagnelie et al, 2018).…”