Currie, Janet. <br/><br/>
First Do No Harm?:  Tort Reform and Birth Outcomes / 
Janet Currie, W. Bentley MacLeod. 
 - Cambridge, Mass.  National Bureau of Economic Research  2006. 
 - 1 online resource:  illustrations (black and white); 
 - NBER working paper series  no. w12478 .
 - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research)  no. w12478. .
<br/><br/> August 2006. 
<br/><br/> 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. 
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