This Is Only a Test? Long-Run and Intergenerational Impacts of Prenatal Exposure to Radioactive Fallout

Sandra Black, Aline Bütikofer, Paul Devereux and Kjell G Salvanes

The Review of Economics and Statistics, 2019, vol. 101, issue 3, 531-546

Abstract: We examine the effect of radiation exposure in utero, resulting from nuclear weapon testing in the 1950s and early 1960s, on long-run outcomes of Norwegian children. Exposure to low-dose radiation, specifically during months 3 and 4 in utero, leads to lower IQ scores for men and lower education attainment and earnings among men and women. Children of persons affected in utero also have lower cognitive scores, suggesting a persistent intergenerational effect of the shock to endowments. Given the lack of awareness about nuclear testing in Norway at this time, our estimates are likely unaffected by avoidance behavior or stress effects.

Date: 2019
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