Early-Life Access to a Basic Health Care Program and Adult Outcomes in Indonesia

Abstract

Access to primary care during early life can have substantial benefits in developing countries. This study evaluates the long-run impact of the Village Midwife Program in Indonesia. It utilizes the rollout variation of the program and links individual background and community characteristics in early childhood to adult outcomes in the Indonesian Family Life Survey. It finds that the presence of a midwife in a community in utero leads to an improvement in overall health, cognition, and economic outcomes among men, but not women. Greater receipt of antenatal care and skilled birth attendance could, in part, drive these results.