Under the weather: Health, schooling, and economic consequences of early-life rainfall

Type Journal Article - The American Economic Review
Title Under the weather: Health, schooling, and economic consequences of early-life rainfall
Author(s)
Volume 99
Issue 3
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2009
Page numbers 1006-1026
URL http://www.nber.org/papers/w14031
Abstract
We examine the effect of early-life rainfall on the health, education, and socioeconomic outcomes of Indonesian adults. We link historical rainfall for each individual's birth year and birth location with adult outcomes from the 2000 Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS). Higher early-life rainfall has large positive effects on the adult outcomes of women, but not of men. Women with 20 percent higher rainfall (relative to the local norm) are 0.57 centimeters taller, complete 0.22 more schooling grades, and live in households scoring 0.12 standard deviations higher on an asset index. Schooling attainment appears to mediate the impact on adult women's socioeconomic status.

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