RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Early-Life Exposure to the Great Depression and Long-Term Health and Economic Outcomes
JF Journal of Human Resources
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 1937
OP 1970
DO 10.3368/jhr.0421-11584R1
VO 60
IS 6
A1 Duque, Valentina
A1 Schmitz, Lauren L.
YR 2025
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/60/6/1937.abstract
AB Using state–year-level variation from the Great Depression, we show that adverse economic conditions experienced in early life are associated with worse labor market outcomes in prime-age years and worse economic well-being, morbidity, and mortality at older ages. These effects become more pronounced as surviving cohort members age, suggesting disparities in the acceleration of age-related physiological damage. Using multiple data sources, we analyze potential mechanisms in childhood and midlife. After evaluating changes in fertility and mortality rates for Depression-era birth cohorts, we conclude that these effects likely represent lower-bound estimates of the true impacts of the economic shock on long-term outcomes.