Job Market Paper
The effectiveness of prenatal care in protecting maternal health outcomes. Link to Draft
This paper evaluates the effectiveness of prenatal care in improving maternal health by exploiting the 1996 welfare reform (PRWORA) as an exogenous source of variation. PRWORA imposed a five-year waiting period on federal Medicaid for recent immigrants. States had the option to fund the federally ineligible using state funds, generating heterogeneous state responses. I use the cross-state variation and apply a generalized difference-in-difference-in-differences framework to individual birth records from the restricted Vital Statistics Natality files linked to the 1990 Decennial Census. My results indicate that greater exposure to PRWORA was associated with fewer prenatal care visits, later initiation, and greater prenatal care inadequacy. On the maternal complications side, the same increase in exposure corresponds to a slight rise in hemorrhage and birth injury, with no apparent effects on uterine rupture or primary cesarean deliveries. Taken together, the evidence suggests that PRWORA’s eligibility restrictions reduced access to prenatal care. However, the impact on maternal health outcomes is mixed, with increases in risks for certain complications but limited effects for others.
Working Paper
Navigating Inequities: Racial Disparities in Prenatal Care Access and Obstetric Injuries. Link to Draft
This paper examines how racial disparities in prenatal care contribute to racial gaps in maternal health, focusing on delivery-related complications—ICU admission, blood transfusion, cesarean delivery, and perineal laceration. Using restricted-use Vital Statistics Natality data, I first document large differences between Black and White mothers in both prenatal care use and obstetric injuries. A Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition shows that differences in prenatal care account for a meaningful share of these gaps, especially for transfusions and ICU admissions. Notably, each additional prenatal visit appears more protective for Black mothers, suggesting high returns to improving access in this group. Still, a sizable portion of the disparity remains unexplained, consistent with systemic inequities in treatment and care delivery. To assess policy leverage, I use a difference-in-differences design around the staggered rollout of Medicaid expansions under the ACA. The estimates point to greater access in expansion states, but effects on care initiation and maternal outcomes are modest and statistically indistinguishable from zero. Overall, expanding insurance is necessary but not sufficient; reducing structural and institutional barriers is essential for advancing maternal health equity.
Works in Progress
Atmospheric Pressure and Birth Outcomes (With Dr. Seth Neller)
This paper examines the causal impact of short-run fluctuations in atmospheric pressure on birth timing and obstetric decisions. Using daily weather data (GSOD) matched to U.S. Vital Statistics natality records from 1989–2019, we construct a county-by-day panel and exploit within-county variation in atmospheric pressure. We find that increases in atmospheric pressure significantly reduce daily birth volume, with effects concentrated at extremely low-pressure levels, consistent with pressure-induced spontaneous labor. We further investigate whether these demand shocks influence clinical decision-making and find suggestive evidence that cesarean delivery rates respond in capacity-constrained settings. The results highlight atmospheric pressure as an underexplored determinant of birth timing and hospital behavior.
Impact of Access to Prenatal Care on Maternal Health, Infant Health, Female Labor Force Participation
Publications and Reports
Dasgupta, D., Das, S. Sustainability performance of the Indian cement industry. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy 23,1375–1383 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-020-01998-6.
Dasgupta, D. Just Transition: Towards Greener Future. Just Transition Newsletter. The Energy and Resources Institute 01, 4-5 (2022).
Dasgupta, D. Environmental Policy Instruments for Controlling Pollution in the Developing Countries. EconoPress Newsletter.Kalindi College, University of Delhi, 60-64 (2022).
Academic Presentations
Southern Economic Association, Houston, November 2026 (Upcoming)
American Society of Health Economists, Minneapolis, June 2026 (Upcoming)
14th Annual Houston Global Health Collaborative, March 2026
CSWEP Health Mentoring Workshop, September 29, 2023 (Online)
CSWEP Health Mentoring Workshop, Follow-up Meeting, December 12, 2023 (Online)
Brownbag, The University of Tennessee (Fall 2024-Present)
Applied Micro Group, The University of Tennessee (Spring 2023-Present)