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Public health regulation and mortality: Evidence from early 20th century milk laws

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  • Komisarow, Sarah

Abstract

In this paper, I estimate the impact of city-level public health regulations in the market for cow's milk on the mortality of infants and young children between 1900 and 1920. I find that the introduction of city-level dairy farm inspections reduced mortality from Diarrhea & Enteritis for one-year-old children by 1.3 annual deaths per thousand, a 14 percent effect relative to the baseline rate for this cause and a 3 percent effect relative to the baseline rate for all causes for this age group. Back-of-the-envelope calculations reveal that the benefits from these regulations exceeded costs by at least a factor of two.

Suggested Citation

  • Komisarow, Sarah, 2017. "Public health regulation and mortality: Evidence from early 20th century milk laws," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 126-144.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:56:y:2017:i:c:p:126-144
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2017.07.010
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. D. Mark Anderson & Kerwin Kofi Charles & Michael McKelligott & Daniel I. Rees, 2021. "Estimating the Effects of Milk Inspections on Infant and Child Mortality, 1880-1910," NBER Working Papers 29620, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Anderson, D. Mark & Rees, Daniel I. & Wang, Tianyi, 2020. "The phenomenon of summer diarrhea and its waning, 1910-1930⁎," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Anderson, D. Mark & Charles, Kerwin Kofi & Rees, Daniel I., 2018. "Public Health Efforts and the Decline in Urban Mortality," IZA Discussion Papers 11773, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Anderson, D. Mark & Charles, Kerwin Kofi & Rees, Daniel I. & Wang, Tianyi, 2021. "Water purification efforts and the black‐white infant mortality gap, 1906–1938," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    5. Antman, Francisca M. & Flynn, James M., 2024. "When beer is safer than water: Beer availability and mortality from waterborne illnesses," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    6. D. Mark Anderson & Kerwin Kofi Charles & Daniel I. Rees, 2018. "Public Health Efforts and the Decline in Urban Mortality," NBER Working Papers 25027, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. D. Mark Anderson & Daniel I. Rees & Tianyi Wang, 2019. "The Phenomenon of Summer Diarrhea and its Waning, 1910-1930," NBER Working Papers 25689, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. D. Mark Anderson & Kerwin Kofi Charles & Daniel I. Rees & Tianyi Wang, 2019. "Water Purification Efforts and the Black-White Infant Mortality Gap, 1906-1938," Working Papers 2019-075, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    9. Katherine Eriksson & Gregory T. Niemesh & Melissa Thomasson, 2018. "Revising Infant Mortality Rates for the Early Twentieth Century United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(6), pages 2001-2024, December.
    10. Hanlon, W. Walker & Hansen, Casper Worm & Kantor, Jake, 2021. "Temperature, Disease, and Death in London: Analyzing Weekly Data for the Century from 1866 to 1965," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(1), pages 40-80, March.
    11. Marein, Brian, 2023. "Public health departments and the mortality transition in Latin America: Evidence from Puerto Rico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    12. Onur Altındağ & Jane Greve & Erdal Tekin, 2024. "Public Health Policy at Scale: Impact of a Government-Sponsored Information Campaign on Infant Mortality in Denmark," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 106(3), pages 882-893, May.
    13. Anderson, D. Mark & Charles, Kerwin Kofi & Rees, Daniel I. & Wang, Tianyi, 2019. "Water Purification Efforts and the Black-White Infant Mortality Gap, 1906-1938," IZA Discussion Papers 12783, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Philipp Ager & James J Feigenbaum & Casper W Hansen & Hui Ren Tan, 2024. "How the Other Half Died: Immigration and Mortality in U.S. Cities," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(1), pages 1-44.
    15. Bart Minten & Yetimwork Habte & Kaleab Baye & Seneshaw Tamru, 2023. "Food Safety and Incipient Modern Value Chains: Evidence from Milk in Ethiopia," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(5), pages 1197-1223, October.
    16. D. Mark Anderson & Kerwin Kofi Charles & Daniel I. Rees & Tianyi Wang, 2019. "Water Purification Efforts and the Black-White Infant Mortality Gap, 1906-1938," NBER Working Papers 26489, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. D. Mark Anderson & Kerwin Kofi Charles & Michael McKelligott & Daniel I. Rees, 2022. "Safeguarding Consumers Through Minimum Quality Standards: Milk Inspections and Urban Mortality, 1880-1910," NBER Working Papers 30063, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Anderson, D. Mark & Charles, Kerwin Kofi & McKelligott, Michael & Rees, Daniel I., 2022. "Safeguarding Consumers through Minimum Quality Standards: Milk Inspections and Urban Mortality, 1880-1910," IZA Discussion Papers 15295, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Anderson, D. Mark & Rees, Daniel I. & Wang, Tianyi, 2019. "The Phenomenon of Summer Diarrhea and Its Waning, 1910-1930," IZA Discussion Papers 12232, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Lauren Hoehn‐Velasco & Elizabeth Wrigley‐Field, 2022. "City health departments, public health expenditures, and urban mortality over 1910–1940," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(2), pages 929-953, April.
    21. Charris, Carlos & Branco, Danyelle & Carrillo, Bladimir, 2024. "Economic shocks and infant health: Evidence from a trade reform in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).

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