Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
Using data from 17 countries, we investigate the effects of child marriage bans on child mortality in the next generation. We use within-country variation in mothers’ exposure to the ban across cohorts and in “treatment intensity,” calculated based on region-level child marriage prevalence and marriage age prior to the ban. We find that child marriage bans reduced under-5 mortality, with an effect of 19.7 percent corresponding to a one standard deviation change in treatment intensity. Increases in age at first marriage and first birth, which may have led to improved health-related decisions around the time of birth, appear to be the main drivers of the mortality reductions documented.