ZEF Public Lecture: The long-run effects of war on health: Evidence from World War II in France

February 9, 2023 | 13:30 h - 14:30 h

We would like to invite you to the ZEF Public Lecture.

Topic: The long-run effects of war on health: Evidence from World War II in France

Speaker:  Prof. Julia Mink (Argelander Professor of Environmental Economics, Sustainability and Inequality at the University of Bonn)

The presentation is in hybrid mode. You are welcome to join us at the Center for Development Research / ZEF (conference room on the groundfloor), Genscherallee 3, 53113 Bonn or you can join us online.

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://uni-bonn.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5AsdeisqDMiGNPsga4jDOKZ0bn5uWXEPVp_

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Abstract:

We investigate the effects of early-life exposure to war on adult health outcomes including cancer, hypertension, angina, infarction, diabetes and obesity. We combine data from the French prospective cohort study E3N on women employed in the French National Education with historical data on World War II. To identify causal effects, we exploit exogenous spatial and temporal variation in war exposure related to the German invasion of France during the Battle of France. The number of French military casualties at the level of the postcode area serves as main measure of exposure. Our results suggest that exposure to the war during the first 5 years of life has significant adverse effects on health in adulthood. A 10 percent increase in the number of deaths per 100, 000 inhabitants in the individual’s postcode area of birth increases the probability of suffering from any of the health conditions considered in this study by 0.08 percentage points. This is relative to a mean of 49 percent for the sample as a whole.

Biography:

Julia Mink is the Argelander Professor of Environmental Economics, Sustainability and Inequality at the University of Bonn. Her research interests lie at the intersection of health and environmental economics. She uses quasi-experimental methods to provide empirical evidence on the societal costs of exposure to adverse environmental conditions on health and health-related outcomes.