Economic Conditions Early in Life and Individual Mortality

Gerard van den Berg, Maarten Lindeboom () and France Portrait

American Economic Review, 2006, vol. 96, issue 1, 290-302

Abstract: We analyze the effect of economic conditions early in life on individual mortality rate later in life, using business cycle conditions early in life as an exogenous indicator. Individual records from Dutch registers of birth, marriage, and death, covering a window of unprecedented size (1912-2000) are merged with historical data on macroeconomic and health indicators. We correct for secular changes over time and other mortality determinants. We nonparametrically compare those born in a recession to those born in the preceding boom, and we estimate duration models where the individual's mortality rate depends on current conditions, conditions early in life, age individual characteristics, including individual socio-economic indicators, and interaction terms. The results indicate a significant negative effect of economic conditions early in life on individual mortality rates at all ages.

Date: 2006
Note: DOI: 10.1257/000282806776157740
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (241)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/000282806776157740 (application/pdf)
http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/data/mar06_data_20040207.zip (application/zip)
Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:96:y:2006:i:1:p:290-302

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.aeaweb.org/journals/subscriptions

Access Statistics for this article

American Economic Review is currently edited by Esther Duflo

More articles in American Economic Review from American Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Michael P. Albert ().