The Weight of the Crisis: Evidence from Newborns in Argentina

We investigate how birth weight in Argentina responds to prenatal economic fluctuations during the period from January 2000 to December 2005, and document its procyclicality, in particular with respect to the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. We find evidence that the birth weight of children of low-educated mothers is sensitive to macroeconomic fluctuations during both the first and third trimester of pregnancy, while that of high-educated mothers only reacts to the first trimester of pregnancy. Our results are consistent with low-educated women facing credit constraints and suffering from both nutritional deprivation and maternal stress, while high-educated women are only affected by stress.