Can pandemics affect educational attainment? Evidence from the polio epidemic of 1916

We leverage the largest polio outbreak in US history, the 1916 polio epidemic, to study how epidemic-related school interruptions affect educational attainment. Using polio morbidity as a proxy for epidemic exposure, we find that children aged 10 and under, and school-aged children of legal working...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cliometrica 2021-05, Vol.15 (2), p.231-265
Main Authors: Meyers, Keith, Thomasson, Melissa A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Econometrics
Economic Theory/Quantitative Economics/Mathematical Methods
Economics
Economics and Finance
Educational attainment
Epidemics
Finance
History
History of Economic Thought/Methodology
Insurance
Management
Original Paper
Poliomyelitis
Statistics for Business
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Summary:We leverage the largest polio outbreak in US history, the 1916 polio epidemic, to study how epidemic-related school interruptions affect educational attainment. Using polio morbidity as a proxy for epidemic exposure, we find that children aged 10 and under, and school-aged children of legal working age with greater exposure to the epidemic experienced reduced educational attainment compared to their slightly older peers. These reductions in observed educational attainment persist even after accounting for the influenza epidemic of 1918.
ISSN:1863-2505
1863-2513
DOI:10.1007/s11698-020-00212-3