Can pandemics affect educational attainment? Evidence from the polio epidemic of 1916

Keith Meyers () and Melissa A. Thomasson ()
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Keith Meyers: University of Southern Denmark
Melissa A. Thomasson: Miami University and Research Associate

Cliometrica, 2021, vol. 15, issue 2, No 1, 265 pages

Abstract: Abstract We leverage the largest polio outbreak in US history, the 1916 polio epidemic, to study how epidemic-related school interruptions affect educational attainment. Using polio morbidity as a proxy for epidemic exposure, we find that children aged 10 and under, and school-aged children of legal working age with greater exposure to the epidemic experienced reduced educational attainment compared to their slightly older peers. These reductions in observed educational attainment persist even after accounting for the influenza epidemic of 1918.

Keywords: Epidemics; Polio; Schooling disruption; Educational attainment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 I26 N22 N3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11698-020-00212-3

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