%O This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
%T Impact of Famine Exposure in Utero on Labor Market Behavior and Health Later in Life
%I National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
%L discovery10117410
%D 2019
%J Proceedings of the Cohort Studies Meeting Spring 2019
%C Cambridge, MA, USA
%X In this paper, we study the long-term causal effects of the Dutch Famine on labor market and health
behavior later in life (55-70). To acknowledge the dynamic nature of labor market changes we focus on
the impact of the famine on the timing of becoming disabled or retired. To acknowledge the dynamic
nature of health behavior, medication use and health expenditures, we focus on the impact of the
famine on the changes over time of medication use and health expenditures, both categorized. In all
analyses we use a non-linear Difference-in-difference approach to identify the the causal impact of
famine exposure in utero on later life outcomes.
We account for selective fertility, by restricting our analysis to those conceived before the famine,
and for selective survival using either an inverse propensity weighting method or a Copula approach.
For the empirical analysis we used data of military recruits born around the Dutch famine (1944-
1947) linked to the Dutch mortality register (deaths trough 2014) and linked to individual administrative data on the monthly labor market status (1999-2013), on the annual income (2003-2013), on
annual prescribed medications (2006-2013), and, on annual insured health costs (2009-2013).
We find that famine exposure in the first trimester of gestation accelerates the timing of disability, decreases labor income and increases the expenditures for mental health. Exposure in the second
trimester decreases expenditure for medications. Exposure in the third trimester increases medication
use for mental diseases.
%B Proceedings of the Cohort Studies Meeting Spring 2019
%A G Bijward
%A G Conti
%A P Ekamper
%A F Van Poppel
%A LH Lumey