Does Mother's Education Improve Maternal and Infant Health? New Causal Evidence

In theory, mothers' education plays an important role in maternal and infant health production. However, the existing causal evidence coming from recent quasi-experimental studies is mixed. In this study, we use newly released birth data from two states and a regression discontinuity design to shed new light on this important issue. Our preliminary results show that young women born just after the school entry cutoff date are less likely to complete high school. Although this worse education outcome, due to the entry policies, does not generally undermine infant health, we find suggestive evidence that it negatively impacts some elements of maternal health and health behaviors.