@techreport{NBERw12478,
 title = "First Do No Harm?: Tort Reform and Birth Outcomes",
 author = "Janet Currie and W. Bentley MacLeod",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "12478",
 year = "2006",
 month = "August",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w12478",
 abstract = {We examine the impact of tort reforms using U.S. birth records for 1989-2001. We make four contributions: First, we develop a model that analyzes the incentives created by specific tort reforms. Second, we assemble new data on tort reform. Third, we examine a range of outcomes. Finally, we allow for differential effects by demographic/risk group. We find that reforms of the "deep pockets rule" reduce complications of labor and C-sections, while caps on noneconomic damages increase them. Our results demonstrate there are important interactions between incentives created by tort law and other incentives facing physicians.},
}