Influence of Parents’ Unemployment on the Health of Newborn Babies

【Abstract】Recent research has shown that low‐income households have a higher probability of babies being born underweight, which is an indicator of poor health. The causes and effects of the weights of newborn babies need to be analyzed in Japan, where the proportion of low‐weight babies is extremely high relative to the other OECD countries. In this paper, we use panel data by prefecture to analyze the influence of market labor conditions on the weights of newborn babies in Japan. Controlling for heterogeneity among prefectures and years as random effects, we first show that high unemployment rates among parents do reduce the weights of newborn babies. However, our analysis does not confirm the influence of poverty and low income on the weights of newborn babies. Unemployment of parents may hamper the health of a baby for reasons other than financial difficulties. 【Key Words】unemployment, low birth‐weight, panel data, Japan 【JEL Classification Number】I1, J1, J2