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Distributional Effects of Education on Health

Author

Listed:
  • Silvia H. Barcellos
  • Leandro S. Carvalho
  • Patrick Turley

Abstract

This paper studies distributional effects of education on health. In 1972, England, Scotland, and Wales raised their minimum school-leaving age from 15 to 16 for students born after 9/1/1957. Using a regression discontinuity design and objective health measures for 0.27 million individuals, we find that education reduced body size and increased blood pressure in middle age. The reduction in body size was concentrated at the upper tail of the distribution with a 7.5 percentage point reduction in obesity. The increase in blood pressure was concentrated at the lower tail of the distribution with no effect on stage 2 hypertension.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia H. Barcellos & Leandro S. Carvalho & Patrick Turley, 2019. "Distributional Effects of Education on Health," NBER Working Papers 25898, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25898
    Note: AG CH ED EH LS
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    Cited by:

    1. Janke, Katharina & Johnston, David W. & Propper, Carol & Shields, Michael A., 2020. "The causal effect of education on chronic health conditions in the UK," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    2. Michael Geruso & Heather Royer, 2018. "The Impact of Education on Family Formation: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from the UK," NBER Working Papers 24332, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General

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