The long-term consequences of the global 1918 influenza pandemic: A systematic analysis of 117 IPUMS international census data sets
Several country-level studies, including a prominent one for the United States, have identified long-term effects of in-utero exposure to the 1918 influenza pandemic (also known as the Spanish Flu) on economic outcomes in adulthood. In-utero conditions are theoretically linked to adult health and socioeconomic status through the fetal origins or Barker hypothesis. Historical exposure to the Spanish Flu provides a natural experiment to test this hypothesis. Although the Spanish Flu was a global phenomenon, with around 500 million people infected worldwide, there exists no comprehensive global study on its long-term economic effects. We attempt to close this gap by systematically analyzing 117 Census data sets provided by IPUMS International. We do not find consistent global long-term effects of influenza exposure on education, employment and disability outcomes. A series of robustness checks does not alter this conclusion. Our findings indicate that the existing evidence on long-term economic effects of the Spanish Flu is likely a consequence of publication bias.
Year of publication: |
2017
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Authors: | Vollmer, Sebastian ; Wójcik, Juditha |
Publisher: |
Göttingen : Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Courant Research Centre - Poverty, Equity and Growth (CRC-PEG) |
Saved in:
freely available
Series: | Discussion Papers ; 242 |
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Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Type of publication (narrower categories): | Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Other identifiers: | 100730281X [GVK] hdl:10419/171996 [Handle] |
Source: |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011757553
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