Working Paper: NBER ID: w12304
Authors: Weili Ding; Steven F. Lehrer; J. Niels Rosenquist; Janet Audrain-McGovern
Abstract: This paper examines the influence of health conditions on academic performance during adolescence. To account for the endogeneity of health outcomes and their interactions with risky behaviors we exploit natural variation within a set of genetic markers across individuals. We present strong evidence that these genetic markers serve as valid instruments with good statistical properties for ADHD, depression and obesity. They help to reveal a new dynamism from poor health to lower academic achievement with substantial heterogeneity in their impacts across genders. Our investigation further exposes the considerable challenges in identifying health impacts due to the prevalence of comorbid health conditions and endogenous health behaviors.
Keywords: health; education; genetic markers; ADHD; depression; obesity
JEL Codes: I21; I12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| poor health outcomes (depression and inattention) (I12) | academic performance (D29) |
| endogenous health behaviors (smoking) (I12) | academic performance (D29) |
| poor health outcomes (depression and ADHD) (I12) | academic performance (D29) |
| comorbidity (I12) | academic performance (D29) |
| obesity (I12) | academic performance (males) (D29) |
| genetic markers (C24) | health outcomes (I14) |