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Article
Infant Mortality and Adult Wellbeing: Evidence from Wartime Britain
Labour Economics
  • Jeffrey C. Schiman, Georgia Southern University
  • Robert Kaestner, University of Chicago
  • Anthony T. Lo Sasso, The University of Illinois at Chicago
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2019
DOI
10.1016/j.labeco.2019.05.001
Abstract

A growing literature argues that early environments affecting childhood health may influence significantly later-life health and socioeconomic status. In this article, we present new evidence on the relationship between infant mortality and later-life outcomes using variation in infant mortality in England and Wales at the onset of World War II. We exploit the variation in infant mortality across birth cohorts and regions to estimate associations between infant mortality and adult outcomes, such as health, disability, and employment. Our findings suggest that exposure to a higher infant mortality environment is significantly associated with higher likelihood of reporting poor health, a higher likelihood of reporting a disability, a lower probability of employment, and a higher probability of reporting no earned income. We also find that the effects of the infant health environment do not become manifest until after age 55.

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Copyright

Copyright belongs to Elsevier. Information regarding the dissemination and usage of journal articles can be accessed through the following links.Ă‚

Citation Information
Jeffrey C. Schiman, Robert Kaestner and Anthony T. Lo Sasso. "Infant Mortality and Adult Wellbeing: Evidence from Wartime Britain" Labour Economics Vol. 60 (2019) p. 12 - 29 ISSN: 0927-5371
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jeffrey-schiman/22/