From Angela's ashes to the Celtic tiger: early life conditions and adult health in Ireland.
We use data from the Irish census and exploit regional and temporal variation in infant mortality rates over the 20th century to examine effects of early life conditions on later life health. The urban mortality penalty collapsed in Ireland in the years right after World War II. Our main identification is public health interventions centered on improved sanitation and food safety, which we believed played a leading role in eliminating the Irish urban infant mortality penalty. Our estimates suggest that a unit decrease in mortality rates at time of birth reduces the probability of being disabled as an adult by about 12-18%.
UCD School of Economics & UCD School of Public Health & Population Science, UCD Geary Institute, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland. Liam.Delaney@ucd.ie
Liam
L
Delaney
Mark
M
McGovern
James P
JP
Smith
D000328:Adult; D019352:Censuses; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008017:Life Expectancy / Q000639:trends; D011634:Public Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012423:Rural Health / Q000639:trends*; D014504:Urban Health / Q000639:trends*