The effect of prenatal exposure to radiation on birth outcomes: exploiting a natural experiment in Taiwan

We estimate the effect of prenatal exposure to radiation on infant health. By exploiting the 1983 Taiwanese radiation-contaminated buildings accident as a natural experiment, we compare birth outcomes between siblings and cousins exposed to different radiation levels. Given the 1983 accident was una...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJapanese economic review (Oxford, England) Vol. 71; no. 3; pp. 379 - 403
Main Authors Tsou, Meng-Wen, Liu, Jin-Tan, Hammitt, James K., Lu, Chyi-Horng, Kao, Szu-Yu Zoe
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Singapore Springer Singapore 01.07.2020
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Accidents
Childbirth & labor
Development Economics
Econometrics
Economic History
Economics
Economics and Finance
Infants
Low birth weight
Macroeconomics/Monetary Economics//Financial Economics
Microeconomics
Prenatal care
Prenatal exposure
Radiation
Relatives
Siblings
I18
Ionizing radiation
Birth outcomes
Birthweight
Radiation contaminated buildings
I10
J13
Prenatal exposure
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:We estimate the effect of prenatal exposure to radiation on infant health. By exploiting the 1983 Taiwanese radiation-contaminated buildings accident as a natural experiment, we compare birth outcomes between siblings and cousins exposed to different radiation levels. Given the 1983 accident was unanticipated and exposed cohorts were unaware of the risk until 1992, our design isolates the effect of radiation exposure during pregnancy from other effects. We provide the first evidence that prenatal exposure to a continuous low-level dose of radiation significantly reduces gestational length and increases the probabilities of prematurity and low birth weight.
ISSN:1352-4739
1468-5876
DOI:10.1007/s42973-019-00016-9