Multigenerational Effects of Smallpox Vaccination

Volha Lazuka and Peter Jensen
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Volha Lazuka: University of Southern Denmark, Lund University, IZA

No 251, Working Papers from European Historical Economics Society (EHES)

Abstract: Can the effect of a positive health shock, such as childhood vaccination, transmit across three generations? To answer this question, we estimate the impact of smallpox vaccination in childhood on the longevity and occupational achievements of three generations using unique individual-level data from Sweden, covering the last 250 years. We apply different estimation strategies based on linear and non-linear probability models. To address endogeneity concerns, we construct a shift-share instrumental variable, utilizing the fact that vaccination in Sweden was administered by the low-skilled clergy, who otherwise did not perform public health duties. Overall, our results show that a positive shock to the health of the first generation, such as smallpox vaccination, operating through various channels, enhances both health and socio-economic outcomes for at least two more generations.

Keywords: intergenerational transmission of health; smallpox vaccination; shift-share instrumental-variables (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 J24 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 67 pages
Date: 2024-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea, nep-his and nep-lma
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https://www.ehes.org/wp/EHES_251.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Multigenerational Effects of Smallpox Vaccination (2024)
Working Paper: Multigenerational Effects of Smallpox Vaccination (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hes:wpaper:0251

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