Relatore
Tommy Bengtsson
Centre for Economic Demography - Department of Economic History
Lund University
Abstract
Improvements in early life, whether less exposure to disease or better diets, have been considered to be an important driver of the historical mortality decline and economic growth. Consequently, understanding the role of early life factors and whether they have changed over time is important for the understanding the improvements in living standards and health over the last two centuries. Using longitudinal data from Southern Sweden from the eighteenth century until today a series of papers evaluates the impact of socioeconomic status, disease exposure, and public health interventions on socioeconomic attainment, income, and mortality in later life. Major findings include that individuals born in years with high infant mortality rates or with smallpox or whooping cough epidemics experienced lower socioeconomic performance and higher levels of adult and old-age mortality, while no effects were seen in relation to exposure to high prices. Furthermore, public health an intervention, such as the use of antiseptics by midwifes, isolations hospitals, purification of water, and the use of sulpha have long-term impacts on health and income. Taken together, these set of papers finds strong evidence for an important role of the local environment in the first years of life for future health and well-being.
Organizzatori
Prof.ssa Rosella Rettaroli
Dott. Francesco Scalone