Estimating the Effects of Milk Inspections on Infant and Child Mortality, 1880-1910

D. Mark Anderson, Kerwin Kofi Charles, Michael McKelligott and Daniel Rees

No 29620, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: In the mid-19th century, the urban milk supply in the United States was regularly skimmed or diluted with water, reducing its nutritional value. At the urging of public health experts, cities across the country hired milk inspectors, who were tasked with collecting and analyzing milk samples with the goal of preventing adulteration and skimming. Using city-level data for the period 1880-1910, we explore the effects of milk inspections on infant mortality and mortality among children under the age of 5. Event-study estimates are small and statistically insignificant, providing little evidence of post-treatment reductions in either infant or child mortality.

JEL-codes: I18 J1 N31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-his
Note: CH DAE EH
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Published as D. Mark Anderson & Kerwin Kofi Charles & Michael McKelligott & Daniel I. Rees, 2022. "Estimating the Effects of Milk Inspections on Infant and Child Mortality, 1880–1910," AEA Papers and Proceedings, vol 112, pages 188-192.

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