What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Weaker: Prenatal Pollution Exposure and Educational Outcomes

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Human Resources
Year: 2012
Volume: 47
Issue: 3

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

I examine the impact of prenatal total suspended particulate (TSP) exposure on educational outcomes using county-level variation in the timing and severity of the industrial recession of the early 1980s as a shock to ambient TSPs (similar to Chay and Greenstone 2003b). I then instrument for pollution levels using county-level changes in relative manufacturing employment. A standard deviation decrease in TSPs in a student’s year of birth is associated with 2 percent of a standard deviation increase in high school test scores for OLS and 6 percent for IV. I also consider how migration and selection into motherhood relate to my results.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:uwp:jhriss:v:46:y:2012:iii:1:p:826-850
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-29