Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Call for Editor
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Human Resources
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Human Resources

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Call for Editor
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Follow JHR on Bluesky
Research ArticleArticles

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Weaker

Prenatal Pollution Exposure and Educational Outcomes

Nicholas J. Sanders
Journal of Human Resources, July 2012, 47 (3) 826-850; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.47.3.826
Nicholas J. Sanders
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

References

  1. ↵
    1. Almond Douglas,
    2. Currie Janet
    . 2011. “Killing Me Softly: The Fetal Origins Hypothesis.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 25(3):153–72.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  2. ↵
    1. Almond Douglas,
    2. Chay Kenneth Y.,
    3. Lee David S.
    2005. “The Costs of Low Birth Weight.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 120(3):1031–83.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  3. ↵
    1. Almond Douglas,
    2. Edlund Lena,
    3. Palme Mårten
    . 2009. “Chernobyl’s Subclinical Legacy: Prenatal Exposure to Radioactive Fallout and School Outcomes in Sweden.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 124 (4):1729–72.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  4. ↵
    1. Angrist Joshua D.,
    2. Pischke Jörn-Steffen
    . 2009. Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist’s Companion. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
    1. Barreca Alan
    . 2011. “Climate Change, Humidity, and Mortality in the United States.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 63(1):19–34.
    OpenUrl
  5. ↵
    1. Baum Christopher F.,
    2. Schaffer Mark E.,
    3. Stillman Steven
    . 2007. “Enhanced Routines For Instrumental Variables/Generalized Method of Moments Estimation and Testing.” Stata Journal, 7(4):465–506.
    OpenUrlWeb of Science
  6. ↵
    1. Behrman Jere R.,
    2. Rosenzweig Mark R.
    2004. “Returns to Birthweight.” Review of Economics and Statistics 86(2):586–601.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  7. ↵
    1. Behrman Jere R.,
    2. Rosenzweig Mark R.,
    3. Taubman Paul
    . 1994. “Endowments and the Allocation of Schooling in the Family and in the Marriage Market: The Twins Experiment.” Journal of Political Economy 102(6):1131–74.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  8. ↵
    1. Black Dan,
    2. Daniel Kermit,
    3. Sanders Seth
    . 2002. “The Impact of Economic Conditions on Participation In Disability Programs: Evidence from the Coal Boom and Bust.” American Economic Review 92(1):27–50.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  9. ↵
    1. Block Michelle L.,
    2. Calderón-Garcidueñas Lilian
    . 2009. “Air Pollution: Mechanisms of Neuroinflammation and CNS Disease.” Trends in Neurosciences 32(9):506–16.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  10. ↵
    1. Campbell A.,
    2. Oldham M.,
    3. Becaria A.,
    4. Bondy SC,
    5. Meacher D.,
    6. Sioutas C.,
    7. Misra C.,
    8. Mendez LB,
    9. Kleinman M.
    2005. “Particulate Matter in Polluted Air May Increase Biomarkers of Inflammation in Mouse Brain.” Neuro Toxicology 26(1):133–40.
    OpenUrl
  11. ↵
    1. Chay Kenneth Y.,
    2. Greenstone Michael
    . 2003. “Air Quality, Infant Mortality, and the Clean Air Act of 1970.” NBER Working Paper No. 10053.
  12. ↵
    1. Chay Kenneth Y.,
    2. Greenstone Michael
    . 2003. “The Impact of Air Pollution on Infant Mortality: Evidence from Geographic Variation in Pollution Shocks Induced by a Recession.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 118(3):1121–67.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  13. ↵
    1. Currie Janet,
    2. Thomas Duncan
    . 2001. “Early Test Scores, School Quality and SES: Long Run Effects on Wage and Employment Outcomes.” Worker Wellbeing in a Changing Labor Market 20:103–32.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  14. ↵
    1. Currie Janet,
    2. Moretti Enrico
    . 2007. “Biology as destiny? Short-and Long-Run Determinants of Intergenerational Transmission of Birth Weight.” Journal of Labor Economics 25(2):231–64.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  15. ↵
    1. Currie Janet,
    2. Neidell Matthew
    . 2005. “Air Pollution and Infant Health: What Can We Learn From California’s Recent Experience?” Quarterly Journal of Economics 120(3):1003–1030.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  16. ↵
    1. Currie Janet,
    2. Walker Reed
    . 2011. “Traffic Congestion and Infant Health: Evidence from E-ZPass.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 3(1):65–90.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  17. ↵
    1. Currie Janet,
    2. Hanushek Eric A.,
    3. Kahn E. Megan,
    4. Neidell Matthew,
    5. Rivkin Steven G.
    2009. “Does Pollution Increase School Absences?” Review of Economics and Statistics 91(4):682– 94.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  18. ↵
    1. Currie Janet,
    2. Neidell Matthew,
    3. Schmieder Johannes F.
    2009 “Air Pollution and Infant Health: Lessons from New Jersey.” Journal of Health Economics 28(3):688–703.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  19. ↵
    1. Debes Frodi,
    2. Budtz-Jørgensen Esben,
    3. Weihe Pal,
    4. White Roberta F.,
    5. Grandjean Philippe
    , “Impact of Prenatal Methylmercury Exposure on Neurobehavioral Function at Age 14 Years.” Neurotoxicology and Teratology 28(3):363–75.
  20. ↵
    1. Dehejia Rajeev,
    2. Lleras-Muney Adriana
    . “Booms, Busts, and Babies’ Health.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 119(3):1091–1130.
  21. ↵
    1. Deschênes Olivier,
    2. Greenstone Michael
    . 2007. “Climate Change, Mortality, and Adaptation: Evidence from Annual Fluctuations in Weather in the US,” 2007. NBER Working Paper No. 13178.
    1. Deschênes Olivier,
    2. Greenstone Michael,
    3. Guryan Jonathan
    , “Climate Change and Birth Weight,” American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 99(2):211–17.
  22. ↵
    1. Environmental Protection Agency
    . 1985. “National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report, 1985.” Washington D.C.: GPO.
  23. ↵
    1. Environmental Protection Agency
    . 2009. “Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter.” Washington D.C.: GPO.
  24. ↵
    1. Fonken LK,
    2. Xu X.,
    3. Weil ZM,
    4. Chen G.,
    5. Sun Q.,
    6. Rajagopalan S.,
    7. Nelson RJ
    . 2011. “Air Pollution Impairs Cognition, Provokes Depressive-Like Behaviors and Alters Hippocampal Cytokine Expression and Morphology.” Molecular Psychiatry.
  25. ↵
    1. Friedman Michael S.,
    2. Powell Kenneth E.,
    3. Hutwagner Lori,
    4. Graham LeRoy M.,
    5. Teague W. Gerald
    . 2001. “Impact of Changes in Transportation and Commuting Behaviors During the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta on Air Quality and Childhood Asthma.” Journal of the American Medical Association 285(7):897.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  26. ↵
    1. Grandjean Philippe,
    2. Weihe Pal,
    3. White Roberta F.,
    4. Debes Frodi
    . 1998. “Cognitive Performance of Children Prenatally Exposed to ‘Safe’ Levels of Methylmercury.” Environmental Research 77(2):165–72.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  27. ↵
    1. Haney Walt
    . 2000. “The Myth of the Texas Miracle in Education.” Education Policy Analysis Archives 8.
  28. ↵
    1. Hanushek Eric A.,
    2. Rivkin Steven G.,
    3. Taylor Lori L.
    1996. “Aggregation and the Estimated Effects of School Resources.” Review of Economics and Statistics 78(4):611–27.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  29. ↵
    1. Kleibergen Frank,
    2. Paap Richard
    . 2006. “Generalized Reduced Rank Tests Using the Singular Value Decomposition.” Journal of Econometrics 133(1):97–126.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Knittel Christopher R.,
    2. Miller Douglas L.,
    3. Sanders Nicholas J.
    2011 “Caution, Drivers! Children Present: Traffic, Pollution, and Infant Health.” NBER Working Paper No. 17222.
  30. ↵
    1. Lleras-Muney Adriana
    . 2010. “The Needs of the Army: Using Compulsory Relocation in the Military to Estimate the Effect of Air Pollutants on Children’s Health.” Journal of Human Resources 45(3):549–90.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  31. ↵
    1. Ludwig Jens,
    2. Miller Douglas L.
    2007. “Does Head Start Improve Children’s Life Chances? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 122(1): 159–208.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  32. ↵
    1. Martorell Francisco
    . 2004. “Do High School Graduation Exams Matter? A Regression Discontinuity Approach.” Rand Corporation. Unpublished.
  33. ↵
    1. Moretti Enrico,
    2. Neidell Matthew
    . 2011. “Pollution, Health, and Avoidance Behavior: Evidence from the Ports of Los Angeles.” Journal of Human Resources 46(1):154–75.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  34. ↵
    1. Neidell Matthew
    . 2009. “Information, Avoidance Behavior, and Health: The Effect of Ozone on Asthma Hospitalizations.” Journal of Human Resources 44(2):450.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  35. ↵
    1. Neidell Matthew
    . 2004. “Air Pollution, Health, And Socio-Economic Status: The Effect Of Outdoor Air Quality On Childhood Asthma.” Journal of Health Economics 23(6):1209–36.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  36. ↵
    1. Nilsson J. Peter
    . 2009. “The Long-term Effects of Early Childhood Lead Exposure: Evidence from the Phase-out of Leaded Gasoline.” Standford University. Unpublished.
  37. ↵
    1. Orrenius Pia M.,
    2. Saving Jason L.,
    3. Caputo Priscilla
    . 2005. “Why Did Texas Have a Jobless Recovery?” Dallas: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    1. Paul Annie Murphy
    . 2010a. Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives. Free Press.
  38. ↵
    1. Paul Annie Murphy
    . 2010b. “How the First Nine Months Shape the Rest of Your Life,” Time Magazine, 22 September 2010, adapted from Paul 2010a.
  39. ↵
    1. Perera Frederica P.,
    2. Li Zhigang,
    3. Whyatt Robin,
    4. Hoepner Lori,
    5. Wang Shuang,
    6. Camann David,
    7. Rauh Virginia
    . 2009. “Prenatal Airborne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure and Child IQ at Age 5 Years.” Pediatrics 124(2): e195–e202.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  40. ↵
    1. Ponce Ninez A.,
    2. Hoggatt Katherine J.,
    3. Wilhelm Michelle,
    4. Ritz Beate
    . 2005 “Preterm Birth: The Interaction Of Traffic-Related Air Pollution with Economic Hardship in Los Angeles Neighborhoods.” American Journal of Epidemiology 162(2):140–48.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  41. ↵
    1. Raloff Janet
    . 2010. “Destination Brain: Inhaled Pollutants May Inflame More than the Lungs.” Science-News 177(11).
  42. ↵
    1. Reyes Jessica Wolpaw
    . 2007. “Environmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on Crime.” Berkeley Electronic Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 7 (1):51.
    OpenUrl
  43. ↵
    1. Richardson Jed T.
    2010. “Accountability Incentives and Academic Achievement: The Benefit of Setting Standards Low.” Unpublished.
  44. ↵
    1. Rockoff Jonah E.
    2004. “The Impact Of Individual Teachers On Student Achievement: Evidence From Panel Data.” American Economic Review 94(2):247–52.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  45. ↵
    1. Sanders Nicholas J.
    2011. “What Doesn’t Kill you Makes you Weaker: Prenatal Pollution Exposure and Educational Outcomes.” SIEPR Discussion Paper 10-019.
  46. ↵
    1. Sanders Nicholas J.,
    2. Stoecker Charles
    . 2011. “Where Have all the Young Men Gone? Using Gender Ratios to Measure the Effect of Pollution on Fetal Death Rates.” NBER Working Paper No. 17434.
  47. ↵
    1. Shaffer Mark E.
    2010. “xtivreg2: Stata module to perform extended IV/2SLS, GMM and AC/HAC, LIML and k-class regression for panel data models.” http://ideas.repec.org/c/boc/bocode/s456501.html.
  48. ↵
    1. Stock James H.,
    2. Wright Jonathan H.
    2000. “GMM with Weak Identification.” Econometrica 68(5):1055–96.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  49. ↵
    1. Stock James H.,
    2. Yogo Motohiro
    . 2002. “Testing for Weak Instruments in Linear IV Regression.” NBER Technical Working Paper No. 0284.
  50. ↵
    1. Stoecker Charles
    . 2010. “Chill Out, Mom: The Long Run Impact of Cold Induced Maternal Stress In Utero.” Unpublished.
  51. ↵
    1. Suglia S.F.,
    2. Gryparis A.,
    3. Wright R.O.,
    4. Schwartz J.,
    5. Wright R.J.
    2008. “Association of Black Carbon with Cognition Among Children in a Prospective Birth Cohort Study.” American Journal of Epidemiology 167(3):280.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  52. ↵
    1. Suzuki Tomoharu,
    2. Oshio Shigeru,
    3. Iwata Mari,
    4. Saburi Hisayo,
    5. Odagiri Takashi,
    6. Udagawa Tadashi,
    7. Sugawara Isamu,
    8. Umezawa Masakazu,
    9. Takeda Ken
    . 2010. “In Utero Exposure to A Low Concentration of Diesel Exhaust Affects Spontaneous Locomotor Activity and Monoaminergic System in Male Mice.” Particle and Fibre Toxicology 7(1):7.
    OpenUrl
  53. ↵
    1. World Bank Group
    . 1999. Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handboo. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 47, Issue 3
1 Jul 2012
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Ed Board (PDF)
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Human Resources.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Weaker
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Human Resources
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Human Resources web site.
Citation Tools
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Weaker
Nicholas J. Sanders
Journal of Human Resources Jul 2012, 47 (3) 826-850; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.47.3.826

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Weaker
Nicholas J. Sanders
Journal of Human Resources Jul 2012, 47 (3) 826-850; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.47.3.826
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • I. Introduction
    • II. Pollution, health, and intrauterine development
    • III. Data
    • IV. Method
    • V. Econometric model
    • VI. Results
    • VII. Discussion
    • VIII. Conclusion
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Air Pollution and Cognition in Children: Evidence from National Tests in Denmark
  • The Health Effects of In Utero Exposure To Cash Transfers
  • Air Filters, Pollution, and Student Achievement
  • The Effect of Open-Air Waste Burning on Infant Health: Evidence from Government Failure in Lebanon
  • Racial Disparities in the Health Effects from Air Pollution: Evidence from Ports
  • Public Investments in Early Childhood Education and Academic Performance: Evidence from Head Start in Texas
  • Does Pollution Drive Achievement? The Effect of Traffic Pollution on Academic Performance
  • The Effects of Local Industrial Pollution on Students and Schools
  • The Persistent Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Air Pollution: Evidence from the Indonesian Forest Fires
  • The Effects of Aggregate and Gender-Specific Labor Demand Shocks on Child Health
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Prescription for Disaster
  • Occupation and temperature-related mortality in Mexico
  • Employers’ Language Proficiency Requirements and Hiring of Immigrants
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

UW Press logo

© 2026 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire