The impact of the bonus at birth on reproductive behaviour in a lowest-low fertility context: Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy) from 1989 2005

As of 1 January 2000 the government of the north-eastern Italian region of FriuliVenezia Giulia (FVG) introduced a substantial bonus at birth. The birth bonus was differentiated by marital status (only married women were eligible), citizenship (only Italians were eligible), and birth order (the bonus grew for the second and especially the third birth). Moreover, the income threshold below which one got the bonus was fairly high. As of 1 January 2004 a new government substantially reduced the bonus amount as well as the upper income limit. We evaluate if the bonuses handed out in FVG during those four years (2000-03) had a significant impact on fertility and abortion choices, verifying whether fertility changed in a different way for women more affected by the new legislation. We also test if the impact of monetary measures was higher for less educated women, because in Italy the relationship between income and education is very strong, and the bonus was practically the same irrespective of income level, hence its relative impact should be stronger in a poorer family. We use two different methods: First, we compare the trends of births and abortion ratios, separately for women affected and not affected by the monetary measures, looking at the differential changes. Second, using log-linear models, we measure if the interactions among time, parity, marital status, citizenship and education are statistically significant in the direction that follows our expectations. Our results show that for low educated (and hence also less rich) women with one or (especially) two and more children, birth trends did change after 1999, whereas the trends for childless women living in FVG and for low-educated women living in other Italian regions did not change.

When money matters. The impact of the bonus at birth on reproductive behaviour in a lowest-low fertility context: Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy) from 1989 to 2005.

The aim of this paper is to analyze whether monetary policies impacts fertility choices. The case-study is the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that between 2000-2004 implemented a generous “baby bonus” at birth for women with at least one child, having low or medium income. Using difference-indifference techniques (by means of graphical and multivariate analyses), this paper compares eligible women with the ones who did not receive the “baby bonus”, because they had not children or lived in other Italian regions. Results show that the “baby bonus” impacted fertility, mainly for poor Italian women with at least two children, although the impact over the total fertility of Friuli-Venezia Giulia was limited

Clarity and consistency in stillbirth reporting in Europe: why is it so hard to get this right?

Background Stillbirth is a major public health problem, but measurement remains a challenge even in high-income countries. We compared routine stillbirth statistics in Europe reported by Eurostat with data from the Euro-Peristat research network. Methods We used data on stillbirths in 2015 from both sources for 31 European countries. Stillbirth rates per 1000 total births were analyzed by gestational age (GA) and birthweight groups. Information on termination of pregnancy at ≥22 weeks’ GA was analyzed separately. Results Routinely collected stillbirth rates were higher than those reported by the research network. For stillbirths with a birthweight ≥500 g, the difference between the mean rates of the countries for Eurostat and Euro-Peristat data was 22% [4.4/1000, versus 3.5/1000, mean difference 0.9 with 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8–1.0]. When using a birthweight threshold of 1000 g, this difference was smaller, 12% (2.9/1000, versus 2.5/1000, mean difference 0.4 with 95% CI 0.3–0.5), but substantial differences remained for individual countries. In Euro-Peristat, missing data on birthweight ranged from 0% to 29% (average 5.0%) and were higher than missing data for GA (0–23%, average 1.8%). Conclusions Routine stillbirth data for European countries in international databases are not comparable and should not be used for benchmarking or surveillance without careful verification with other sources. Recommendations for improvement include using a cut-off based on GA, excluding late terminations of pregnancy and linking multiple sources to improve the quality of national databases.publishedVersio

When money matters. The impact of the bonus at birth on reproductive behaviour in a lowest-low fertility context: Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy) from 1989 to 2005.

The aim of this paper is to analyze whether monetary policies impacts fertility choices. The case-study is the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that between 2000-2004 implemented a generous “baby bonus” at birth for women with at least one child, having low or medium income. Using difference-indifference techniques (by means of graphical and multivariate analyses), this paper compares eligible women with the ones who did not receive the “baby bonus”, because they had not children or lived in other Italian regions. Results show that the “baby bonus” impacted fertility, mainly for poor Italian women with at least two children, although the impact over the total fertility of Friuli-Venezia Giulia was limited

Dimissioni dagli istituti di cura per aborto spontaneo in Italia. Anno 2001

On the title page: Settore Sanita' e previdenzaConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7 , Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal