Long-term impacts of early-life exposure to malaria: Evidence from Taiwan's Eradication Campaign in the 1950s

摘要

This paper utilizes the eradication campaign in Taiwan in the 1950s to estimate the long-term impacts of early-life (in utero and postnatal) exposure to malaria. Matching adults in the 1992-2012 Taiwan Social Change Survey to the malaria intensity in their individual place and year of birth, difference-in-difference estimation shows strong evidence that the eradication increased men's own educational attainment as well as their family income in adulthood. We also use the 1980 census data to show there was a sharp education increase after the eradication. Furthermore, the eradication increased the educational attainment of married men's spouses. Finally, quantile regressions show that the effect concentrated on the lower percentile of the income distribution. Overall, our results suggest negative effects of early-life exposure to malaria.