Working Paper: NBER ID: w8986
Authors: Adriana Lleras-Muney
Abstract: Prior research has uncovered a large and positive correlation between education and health. This paper examines whether education has a causal impact on health. I follow synthetic cohorts using successive U.S. censuses to estimate the impact of educational attainment on mortality rates. I use compulsory education laws from 1915 to 1939 as instruments for education. The results suggest that education has a causal impact on mortality, and that this effect is perhaps larger than has been previously estimated in the literature.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I12; I20; J10; J18; N32; N42
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Socioeconomic status, access to healthcare (I14) | Mortality rates (I12) |
| Compulsory education laws (I29) | Educational attainment (I21) |
| Educational attainment (I21) | Mortality rates (I12) |
| Compulsory education laws (I29) | Mortality rates (I12) |