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

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 healt

SUBMITTER: Lawson N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4937106 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature