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Author: Watson, Tara Elizabeth
Resulting in 3 citations.
1. Fertig, Angela R.
Watson, Tara Elizabeth
Minimum Drinking Age Laws and Infant Health Outcomes
Journal of Health Ecomomics 28,3 (May 2009): 737-747.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629609000319
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Abortion; Alcohol Use; Birth Outcomes; Birthweight; Pre/post Natal Behavior; Pre/post Natal Health Care; Sexual Behavior; State-Level Data/Policy

Alcohol policies have potentially far-reaching impacts on risky sexual behavior, prenatal health behaviors, and subsequent outcomes for infants. After finding initial evidence in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) that changes in the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) are related to prenatal drinking, we examine whether the drinking age influences birth outcomes. Using data from the National Vital Statistics (NVS) for the years 1978-1988, we find that a drinking age of 18 is associated with adverse outcomes among births to young mothers-including higher incidences of low birth weight and premature birth, but not congenital anomalies. The effects are largest among black women. We also report evidence that the MLDA laws alter the composition of births that occur. In states with lenient drinking laws, young black mothers are less likely to report paternal information on the birth certificate, particularly in states with restrictive abortion policies. The evidence suggests that lenient drinking laws generate poor birth outcomes in part because they increase the number of unplanned pregnancies.

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Bibliography Citation
Fertig, Angela R. and Tara Elizabeth Watson. "Minimum Drinking Age Laws and Infant Health Outcomes." Journal of Health Ecomomics 28,3 (May 2009): 737-747.
2. Fertig, Angela R.
Watson, Tara Elizabeth
State Liquor Policies, Maternal Substance Use, and Child Outcomes
Presented: Madison, WI, American Society of Health Economics (ASHE), Inaugural Conference,"Economics of Population Health", June 2006.
Also: http://healtheconomics.us/conference/2006/abstracts/06/06/
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Society of Health Economists (ASHE)
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Birth Outcomes; Birthweight; Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Fertility; Pre-natal Care/Exposure; Record Linkage (also see Data Linkage); Sexual Behavior; Smoking (see Cigarette Use); State-Level Data/Policy; Substance Use

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

State regulations on the consumption of alcohol by minors are widely credited with reducing teen drinking and alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Less often emphasized is the potential effect of these laws on pregnancy and drinking while pregnant, and subsequent outcomes for infants. Surprisingly little is known about whether, by reducing drinking by young women, these regulations also improve birth and infant outcomes. We focus on the changes in minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws that occurred in many states in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The principal objective of the study is to evaluate the consequences of drinking laws and maternal substance use on birth and infant outcomes. There are two channels by which substance use among teenagers affects the health of the next generation. First, by increasing risky sexual behavior, youth alcohol consumption could change the composition of births towards younger mothers and unintended pregnancies. Second, dependent of the compositional effect, drinking alcohol during pregnancy may directly cause poor health outcomes. Because alcohol and tobacco are often used jointly, minimum drinking age laws may affect maternal smoking as well. The specific aims of our project are: 1. To estimate the effects of MLDA laws and enforcement on substance use, with a particular emphasis on alcohol and tobacco use by young women and pregnant women. 2. To estimate the effects of MLDA laws and enforcement on sexual behavior, pregnancies, and births to young women. 3. To evaluate the impact of maternal alcohol and tobacco consumption on birth and early childhood outcomes, using changes in MLDA laws as a source of exogenous variation in alcohol and tobacco use. We use both the restricted version of the NLSY 79 (National Longitudinal Survey of Youth) and Vital Statistics microdata to address these questions. Preliminary results are as follows: 1. MLDA laws reduce alcohol and tobacco use for affected cohorts, and reduce drinking among pregnant young women (see Table 1). 2. The effect of MLDA laws on sexual activity and births is small, but may be larger for some sub-groups. 3. MLDA laws are associated with reduced incidence of low birthweight among infants born to affected cohorts (see Table 2).
Bibliography Citation
Fertig, Angela R. and Tara Elizabeth Watson. "State Liquor Policies, Maternal Substance Use, and Child Outcomes." Presented: Madison, WI, American Society of Health Economics (ASHE), Inaugural Conference,"Economics of Population Health", June 2006.
3. Watson, Tara Elizabeth
Fertig, Angela R.
Minimum Drinking Age Laws and Infant Health Outcomes
NBER Working Paper No. 14118, National Bureau of Economic Research, June 2008.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w14118.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Behavior; Birthweight; Ethnic Differences; Fertility; Pre-natal Care/Exposure; Racial Differences; Record Linkage (also see Data Linkage); State-Level Data/Policy

Alcohol policies have potentially far-reaching impacts on risky sexual behavior, prenatal health behaviors, and subsequent outcomes for infants. We examine whether changes in minimum drinking age (MLDA) laws affect the likelihood of poor birth outcomes. Using data from the National Vital Statistics (NVS) for the years 1978-88, we find that a drinking age of 18 is associated with adverse outcomes among births to young mothers -- including higher incidences of low birth weight and premature birth, but not congenital malformations. The effects are largest among black women. We find suggestive evidence from both the NVS and the 1979 National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY) that the MLDA laws alter the composition of births that occur. In states with lenient drinking laws, young black mothers are more likely to have used alcohol 12 months prior to the birth of their child and less likely to report paternal information on the birth certificate. We suspect that lenient drinking laws generate poor birth outcomes because they increase the number of unplanned pregnancies.
Bibliography Citation
Watson, Tara Elizabeth and Angela R. Fertig. "Minimum Drinking Age Laws and Infant Health Outcomes." NBER Working Paper No. 14118, National Bureau of Economic Research, June 2008.