Trade Liberalization and Mortality Rates: Evidence of Pro-Cyclical Mortality From Brazil.

ABSTRACT: We trace the evolution of all-cause mortality rates in Brazilian regions with varying exposure to trade-induced economic shocks before, during, and after liberalization reforms in the 1990s. We find consistent evidence of pro-cyclical mortality, with areas more exposed to tariff reductions experiencing larger declines in mortality across varying time horizons. The observed decline in mortality rates is evident across sex, age groups, and for both internal and external causes of mortality. We falsify the observed relationship between mortality and tariff reductions with analyses of causes of death that are plausibly unrelated to economic activity. Concerning proximate mechanisms involved in our finding of pro-cyclical mortality, we show that healthcare infrastructure expanded in local econo

SUBMITTER: Cicero VC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11786940 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature