TY - JOUR
T1 - Can pandemics affect educational attainment? Evidence from the polio epidemic of 1916
AU - Meyers, Keith Andrew
AU - Thomasson, Melissa
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - We leverage the largest polio outbreak in US history, the 1916 polio epidemic, to study how epidemic-related school interruptions affect educational attainment. Using polio morbidity as a proxy for epidemic exposure, we find that children aged 10 and under, and school-aged children of legal working age with greater exposure to the epidemic experienced reduced educational attainment compared to their slightly older peers. These reductions in observed educational attainment persist even after accounting for the influenza epidemic of 1918.
AB - We leverage the largest polio outbreak in US history, the 1916 polio epidemic, to study how epidemic-related school interruptions affect educational attainment. Using polio morbidity as a proxy for epidemic exposure, we find that children aged 10 and under, and school-aged children of legal working age with greater exposure to the epidemic experienced reduced educational attainment compared to their slightly older peers. These reductions in observed educational attainment persist even after accounting for the influenza epidemic of 1918.
KW - Epidemics
KW - Polio
KW - Schooling disruption
KW - Educational Attainment
U2 - 10.1007/s11698-020-00212-3
DO - 10.1007/s11698-020-00212-3
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 32837578
SN - 1863-2505
VL - 15
SP - 231
EP - 265
JO - Cliometrica
JF - Cliometrica
IS - 2
ER -