Early-life Exposure to the Great Depression and Long-term Health and Economic Outcomes.

ABSTRACT: Using state-year-level variation from the Great Depression we show that adverse economic conditions experienced in early life are associated with worse labor market outcomes in prime-age years and worse economic wellbeing, morbidity, and mortality at older ages. These effects become more pronounced as surviving cohort members age, suggesting disparities in the acceleration of age-related physiological damage. Using multiple data sources, we analyze potential mechanisms in childhood and midlife. After evaluating changes in fertility and mortality rates for Depression-era birth cohorts, we conclude that these effects likely represent lower bound estimates of the true impacts of the economic shock on long-term outcomes.

SUBMITTER: Duque V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12463396 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature