Germs in the Family: The Short- and Long-Term Consequences of Intra-Household Disease Spread

N. Meltem Daysal, Hui Ding, Maya Rossin-Slater and Hannes Schwandt
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N. Meltem Daysal: Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen
Hui Ding: School of Economics, Fudan University
Maya Rossin-Slater: Department of Health Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine
Hannes Schwandt: School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University

No 25-10, CEBI working paper series from University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI)

Abstract: Preschool-aged children get sick frequently and spread disease to other family members. Despite the universality of this experience, there is limited causal evidence on the magnitudes and consequences of these externalities, especially for infant siblings with developing immune systems and brains. We use Danish administrative data to document that, before age one, younger siblings have 2-3 times higher hospitalization rates for respiratory conditions than older siblings. We combine birth order and within-municipality variation in respiratory disease prevalence among young children, and find lasting differential impacts of early-life respiratory disease exposure on younger siblings earnings, educational attainment, chronic respiratory health and mental health-related outcomes.

Keywords: Children; Early-life conditions; Human capital; Earnings; Birth order; Infectious disease (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I18 J12 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 112
Date: 2025-09-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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