Toxified to the Bone: Early-Life and Childhood Exposure to Lead and Men’s Old-Age Mortality

Jason Fletcher and Hamid Noghanibehambari

No 31957, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Several research strands document the life-cycle impacts of lead exposure during early life. Yet little is known about the long-run effects of lead exposure during early life on old-age mortality outcomes. In this study, we employ Social Security Administration death records linked to the full-count 1940 census and document that birth-city lead status negatively affects later life old age longevity. These impacts are larger for cities with acidic water and older pipeline systems that allow higher lead levels to leach into drinking water. Further, we show that the impacts are almost exclusively concentrated on the lead status of the birth-city and not the city of residence later in life. An instrumental variable strategy suggests reductions in longevity associated with birth-city lead status of about 9.6 months. We also find education, socioeconomic standing, and income reductions during early adulthood as candidate mechanisms. Finally, we use WWII enlistment data and observe reductions in measures of cognitive ability among lead-exposed individuals.

JEL-codes: I1 I18 J1 N0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-hea, nep-his and nep-ure
Note: AG CH DAE EH
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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