AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
The Price of Labor: Evaluating the Impact of Eliminating User Fees on Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes
AEA Papers and Proceedings
(pp. 412–15)
Abstract
Since 2001, several sub-Saharan African countries have eliminated user fees for childbirth. Although intended to improve maternal and infant health outcomes, service quality also fell as facilities became overburdened. In this paper I combine DHS surveys on births from countries eliminating user fees. I identify the effect of user fee elimination using (i) a maternal fixed effect and (ii) an event study within a small geographic area. I find that user fees increase the likelihood of delivery at public sector facilities by 2–7 percentage points. I also find that user fee elimination reduces maternal mortality but may increase neonatal mortality.Citation
Fitzpatrick, Anne. 2018. "The Price of Labor: Evaluating the Impact of Eliminating User Fees on Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes." AEA Papers and Proceedings 108: 412–15. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20181118Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration