PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Duque, Valentina
AU  - Schmitz, Lauren L.
TI  - Early-life Exposure to the Great Depression and Long-term Health and Economic Outcomes
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.0421-11584R1
DP  - 2023 Jul 06
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 0421-11584R1
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2023/07/03/jhr.0421-11584R1.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2023/07/03/jhr.0421-11584R1.full
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 wellbeing, 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.