In this study we analyze the effect of Medicaid on children's heath. We examine the effect of Medicaid on a variety of health outcomes using two data sources: the National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS) and the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) of hospital discharges. Using the NHIS, we examine...

In 1990, in the case of Sullivan v. Zebley, the U.S. Supreme Court relaxed the criteria whereby children became eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Since that ruling, the number of children covered by SSI has almost tripled; nearly 1 million American children are receiving...

A large body of literature suggests that the first years of life are critical for long-term economic, health and social outcomes. However, the effect of public programs on early life skills formation is largely unknown due to data limitations. In this paper we use novel data from a large...

After adjusting for sample-selection bias, I find a net decline in average stature of 0.64 inches in the birth cohorts of 1832--1860 in the US. This result supports the veracity of the Antebellum Puzzle--a deterioration of health during early modern economic growth in the US. However, this...

In this paper, we use 2008-2013 American Community Survey data to update and further probe Dahl and Moretti's (2008) son preference results, which found evidence that having a female first child increased the probability of single female headship and raised fertility. In light of the substantial...

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of state-level Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) laws in the U.S. on maternal health behaviors and infant health outcomes. Using multi-state, multi-year difference-in-differences analyses, we estimated effects of state EITC generosity on...

We show that the neighborhoods in which children grow up shape their earnings, college attendance rates, and fertility and marriage patterns by studying more than seven million families who move across commuting zones and counties in the U.S. Exploiting variation in the age of children when...

In this paper, we comprehensively examine the effects of the Great Recession on child poverty, with particular attention to the role of the social safety net in mitigating the adverse effects of shocks to earnings and income. Using a state panel data model and data for 2000 to 2014, we estimate...