The Effects of Intrauterine Malnutrition on Birth and Fertility Outcomes: Evidence From the 1974 Bangladesh Famine

Abstract

This paper uses the Bangladesh Famine of 1974 as a natural experiment to estimate the impact of intrauterine malnutrition on sex ratio at birth and infant mortality, and also on post-Famine pregnancy outcomes for women who were exposed to the Famine while pregnant. Using the 1996 Matlab Health and Socioeconomic Survey (MHSS), we …nd that children who were in utero during the most severe period of the Famine were 2 percent more likely to die within one month or one year of birth compared to children who were not in utero during the Famine. Furthermore, controlling for preFamine fertility, we …nd that women who were pregnant during the Famine experienced a higher number of stillbirths in the post-Famine years. This increase appears to be driven by an excess number of male stillbirths. JEL Codes: I10, I12, J12, J13.

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