What doesn't kill you makes you poorer: Adult wages and early-life mortality in India

Nicholas Lawson and Dean Spears
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Dean Spears: University of Delhi

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Abstract: A growing literature indicates that effects of early-life health on adult economic outcomes could be substantial in developing countries, but the magnitude of this effect is debated. We document a robust gradient between the early-life mortality environment to which men in India were locally exposed in their district and year of birth and the wages that they earn as adults. A 1 percentage point reduction in infant mortality (or 10 point reduction in IMR) in an infant's district and year of birth is associated with an approximately 2 percent increase in his subsequent adult wages. Consistent with theories and evidence in the literature, we find that the level of schooling chosen for a child does not mediate this association. Because of its consequences for subsequent wages, early-life health could also have considerable fiscal externalities; if so, public health investments could come at very low net present cost.

Keywords: Early-life; health; Infant; mortality; Disease; environment; Wages; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-05
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Published in Economics and Human Biology, 2016, 21, pp.1-16. ⟨10.1016/j.ehb.2015.11.006⟩

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Journal Article: What doesn't kill you makes you poorer: Adult wages and early-life mortality in India (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03586773

DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2015.11.006

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