Babies and Bandidos: Birth outcomes in pacified favelas of Rio de Janeiro

摘要

This paper explores police operations "pacifying" Rio de Janeiro's favelas to estimate if positive shocks of policing affect birth outcomes. Estimates show that pregnancies residing within official "pacification" borders had 0.07 standard deviation better birth outcomes than pregnancies on the same street but giving birth shortly before the police's arrival. Pacification effects concentrate in the third trimester of gestation and are followed by increases in the number of prenatal visits. No evidence of spillovers is found in areas immediately circumventing pacification borders. Hospital -level estimates indicate no impacts on the supply of health services, stress/anxiety among women, or abortions. (C) 2021 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.