WIC PARTICIPATION AND MATERNAL BEHAVIOR: BREASTFEEDING AND WORK LEAVE |
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| Authors: | Lindsey Rose Bullinger Tami Gurley‐Calvez |
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| Institution: | 1. 812‐855‐7980812‐855‐7802;2. PhD Candidate, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN;3. 913‐588‐0869703‐304‐4505;4. Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Kansas Medical School, Kansas City, KS |
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| Abstract: | We examine the effects of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program on breastfeeding outcomes and maternal employment decisions. This research expands the existing literature using an alternative identification strategy and a broader set of outcomes. Using data from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II, we control for selection bias into WIC using the variation in food prices as an instrumental variable. The results of this study are robust to a number of specification and falsification tests. We find WIC decreases exclusive breastfeeding by nearly 50% and increases work leave duration by over 20%. (JEL I18, I38) |
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