Empirical essays on health economics

Detalhes bibliográficos
Ano de defesa: 2024
Autor(a) principal: Parfitt, Rafael Morrone Barbat
Orientador(a): Ferman, Bruno, Castro, Rudi Rocha de
Banca de defesa: Não Informado pela instituição
Tipo de documento: Dissertação
Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
Idioma: eng
Instituição de defesa: Não Informado pela instituição
Programa de Pós-Graduação: Não Informado pela instituição
Departamento: Não Informado pela instituição
País: Não Informado pela instituição
Palavras-chave em Português:
Palavras-chave em Inglês:
Link de acesso: https://hdl.handle.net/10438/35027
Resumo: Essay 1 - The Hidden Costs of Overcrowding Maternity Wards: Health and Education Consequences for Children We study the impacts of childbirth in maternity wards operating beyond their capacity on both children’s health and educational outcomes. We use high-frequency hospital admissions data, containing detailed information on more than six million daily admissions from Brazilian public maternity wards during the years 2006 and 2014. Our main findings indicate that children born under these conditions present a higher probability of infant mortality, primarily due to birth asphyxia and infectious diseases. Furthermore, they are more susceptible to developing hearing disabilities and also exhibit negative effects on educational outcomes during early school years. This educational evidence is supported by two educational outcomes: (i) a lower likelihood of child school enrollment, and (ii) a higher likelihood of delayed school progression. Further investigations reveal that reduced medical attention at birth and a decline in cesarean sections for relatively higher-risk pregnancies are some of the primary driving mechanisms behind the negative impacts of overcrowding impacts. Essay 2 - There’s Something in the Water: Illegal Mining, Mercury Pollution, and Infant Health in the Amazon Rainforest We document the impacts of an unprecedented environmental pollution event caused by a substantial increase in small-scale gold mining in the Madre de Dios region of Peru and Bolivia on riverside Brazilian municipalities closer to the border. Starting in 2004, this surge in mining directly impacted a major Brazilian river, causing severe environmental pollution in the Madeira River Basin, primarily due to mercury contamination. Our results reveal that this water pollution event led to a sudden increase in infant mortality rates in municipalities along the Brazilian border. This evidence is supported by two main mortality outcomes: (i) fetal mortality and (ii) neonatal mortality, primarily from circulatory and congenital factors. Our preferred specification indicates an increase of around 7 per thousand in mortality rates among newborns. Lastly, our event-study approach suggests that these adverse consequences persist over a relatively extended period. Essay 3 - Primary Health Care and Infant Mortality from Early Fertility: Experience from Brazilian Intervention In this study, we investigate the impacts of the municipality’s adoption of the Family Health Strategy (FHS) on infant mortality from teenage women in Brazil. The FHS stands out as one of the most significant community-based interventions globally. We use publicly available Brazilian data combined with a novel staggered Difference-in-Differences estimator to evaluate the causal impacts of the FHS expansion. Our results indicate that the program exposure caused a significant decline in infant mortality rates from teenage pregnancy over the years. This decrease is primarily observed in neonatal mortality, mainly from infectious diseases. Our further investigation reveals that the presence of community health agents is of paramount importance for this decline. Lastly, our event-study analysis suggests its effects stay relatively stable and significant even 18 years after its preliminary implementation.