The origins of inequality have roots in childhood. Childhood asthma, the most common disease affecting children, disproportionately affects minority and lower SES children. Decades of research shows a strong association between tobacco exposure and respiratory illnesses. By exploiting exogenous...

The prevalence of low birth weight is an important aspect of public health which has been linked to increased risk of infant death, increased cost of care, and a range of later life outcomes. Using data from a new Irish cohort study, I document the relationship between birth weight and...

Early life shocks result in physiological changes that allow infants and children to adapt to surrounding environments. We examine the implications of one form of biological adaptation - immune system learning - for human capital formation. Using two case studies, where interventions to reduce...

I estimate the effects of U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) housing prices on a variety of health outcomes and risky health behaviors separately for homeowners and tenants. The constructed dataset consists of information on individuals from the 2002-2012 Behavioral Risk Factor...

Recent studies have shown that COVID-19 affects different population groups asymmetrically. This work uses data from the National Survey of Households-PNAD COVID-19/IBGE-to quantify the socioeconomic inequality in health during the first wave of COVID-19 infections in Brazil. We use the...

Previous research has documented lower vaccination rates among ethnic and racial minorities as well as foreign-born people, thus raising concerns about health inequities during pandemics. We analyzed influenza vaccination rates among children with US-born parents and those with at least one...

The proposed study uses the convergent framework and mixed methods to examine dynamic relationships between natural disaster damages, emergency responses, recovery efforts, public health and hazard readiness in Puerto Rico. The research focuses on economic equality as we seek to improve...

The right to health has been repeatedly recognized as one of the core human rights, essential for human functioning, human dignity, economic well-being, and development. But the right to health continues to elude hundreds of millions and with Covid-19, perhaps billions of people. Poverty remains...

Maternal Health in Nigeria remains a major public health issue, Maternal death in Nigeria are preventable and is reflection of the lack of political and judicial indifference in the implementation and enforcement of rights to health of citizens and failure to provide adequate health...

In 2014, the city of Flint, MI in the U.S. changed its public water source, resulting in severe water contamination and a public health crisis. Using the Flint Water Crisis as a natural experiment, we estimate the effect of in utero exposure to polluted water on health at birth. Matching vital...