Determinants of Birth Outcomes in Texas

The existing literature on birth outcomes does not§successfully answer all the micro-issues that health§policy planners should consider before devising§appropriate strategies to allocate public efforts and§expenditures for the improvement of overall birth§outcomes in a geographical region. Results from§existing literature consistently indicate improved§birth outcomes for women with higher educational§attainment. This study builds on and modifies the§Rosenzweig and Schultz (1982) model, which is based§on a two-tier structure of birth outcomes. Depending§on the nature of available data, the model in its§original form is fitted on comparable observations of§women that had a live single birth in Texas for the§year 2001 and combined effects of maternal choices§are estimated to identify the implications of joint§choices on birth outcomes. This book is likely to§help policy makers in the health and education§fields. Researchers who study health of women, short§term and long term implications of birth outcomes,§impact of educational attainment on life cycles, and§the importance of two-adult family structures will§also benefit from this book.