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What doesn't kill you makes you poorer: Adult wages and early-life mortality in India

Nicholas Lawson and Dean Spears

Economics & Human Biology, 2016, vol. 21, issue C, 1-16

Abstract: A growing literature indicates that effects of early-life health on adult economic outcomes could be substantial in developing countries, but the magnitude of this effect is debated. We document a robust gradient between the early-life mortality environment to which men in India were locally exposed in their district and year of birth and the wages that they earn as adults. A 1 percentage point reduction in infant mortality (or 10 point reduction in IMR) in an infant's district and year of birth is associated with an approximately 2 percent increase in his subsequent adult wages. Consistent with theories and evidence in the literature, we find that the level of schooling chosen for a child does not mediate this association. Because of its consequences for subsequent wages, early-life health could also have considerable fiscal externalities; if so, public health investments could come at very low net present cost.

Keywords: Early-life health; Infant mortality; Disease environment; Wages; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:21:y:2016:i:c:p:1-16

DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2015.11.006

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