Natural disasters and human capital accumulation: Evidence from the 1976 Tangshan earthquake

Xinping Tian, Jinquan Gong and Zhe Zhai

Economics of Education Review, 2022, vol. 90, issue C

Abstract: This study analyzes the effects of fetal exposure to an earthquake in China on long-term human capital accumulation. We exploit the geographical and cohort variation in exposure to the 1976 Tangshan earthquake as a natural experiment. We separately estimate the effects of in utero exposure to high-intensity and low-intensity earthquake shaking. Difference-in-differences results indicate that individuals who experienced either high-intensity or low-intensity earthquake shaking in utero have lower educational attainment in adulthood. Since almost all the casualties and economic losses were concentrated in high-intensity regions during the earthquake, we argue that maternal psychological stress is a potential mechanism behind the effects of low-intensity shaking. We also find that females are more affected than males. However, we find no evidence of adverse effects on labor market outcomes.

Keywords: Natural disasters; Earthquake; Human capital; Maternal stress; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 N3 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:90:y:2022:i:c:s0272775722000772

DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2022.102304

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