The Long Reach of Childhood Health and Circumstance: Evidence from the Whitehall II Study

Anne Case and Christina Paxson

No 15640, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We use data from the Whitehall II study to examine the potential role played by early-life health and circumstances in determining health and employment status in middle and older ages. The population from which the Whitehall II cohort was drawn consisted almost exclusively of white collar civil servants. We demonstrate that estimates of the impact of early-life conditions based on the Whitehall II cohort provide a lower bound on the effect of early-life circumstances on adult health and economic status for the population as a whole. That said, using the Whitehall II cohort data, we find early life circumstances are all predictive of entry grade and promotion to higher grade in Whitehall. Even with controls for entry grade or current grade, we find that childhood circumstances predict cohort members' current health status. Using fixed effect and first-difference models of self-assessed health status and civil service employment grade, we find no evidence of civil service grade affecting future self-assessed health. However, we find self-assessed health has a significant effect on future civil service grade.

JEL-codes: I12 J24 J45 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-01
Note: AG CH EH POL
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Published as Anne Case & Christina Paxson, 2011. "The Long Reach of Childhood Health and Circumstance: Evidence from the Whitehall II Study," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(554), pages F183-F204, 08.

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Journal Article: The Long Reach of Childhood Health and Circumstance: Evidence from the Whitehall II Study (2011)
Working Paper: The Long Reach of Childhood Health and Circumstance: Evidence from the Whitehall II Study (2011)
Working Paper: The Long Reach of Childhood Health and Circumstance: Evidence from the Whitehall II Study (2011)
Working Paper: The Long Reach of Childhood Health and Circumstance: Evidence from the Whitehall II Study (2010)
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