Study: “Why Is Infant Formula Marketing so Controversial? Effect on Breastfeeding and Later Life Outcomes of Children”
PI(s): Cas, Ava Gail
Affiliation(s): Duke University
Institutional Partner(s): IIE Fellow
Project Dates:
Start: 2010
End: 2012
Data Source(s): Panel Data
Methods: Difference-in-Differences Analysis
Geographic Location(s): Indonesia

Description:
There has been increasing evidence showing that environmental influences early in life affect human capital later in life. This research examines the relationship between health early in life and later-life outcomes by analyzing the long-term impact of the 1989 village midwifery program in Indonesia on children’s health and cognitive outcomes. The study looks at children’s anthropometrics and cognitive test scores, the background characteristics of their families and communities, and the presence of midwives and their activities. The study uses longitudinal data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) to observe children from their first year of life to age 14. Children whose mothers had been exposed to the program experienced significant increases in years of education and cognitive test scores, with the greatest impact experienced among children exposed to the program at age 2 or younger, or not yet conceived.

Research Outputs:
Cas, Ava Gail. (2012). Early Life Public Health Intervention and Adolescent Cognition: Evidence from the Safe Motherhood Program in Indonesia (Job market paper). Duke University, Durham, NC.