Article,
Universal Investment in Infants and Long-Run Health: Evidence from Denmark's 1937 Home Visiting Program
Contributors
Wust, Miriam
0000-0001-7171-7146
[4]
Affiliations
- [1] Columbia Univ, Columbia Business Sch, 3022 Broadway,Uris Hall 622, New York, NY 10027 USA [NORA names: United States; America, North; OECD];
- [2] Univ Calif Berkeley, 530 Evans Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA [NORA names: United States; America, North; OECD];
- [3] Univ Calif Berkeley, 530 Evans Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA [NORA names: United States; America, North; OECD];
- [4] SFI Danish Natl Ctr Social Res, Herluf Trolles Gade 11, DK-1052 Copenhagen, Denmark [NORA names: VIVE The Danish Center for Social Science Research; Governmental Institutions; Denmark; Europe, EU; Nordic; OECD]
Abstract
This paper examines the long-run health effects of a universal infant health intervention, the 1937 Danish home visiting program, which targeted all infants. Using administrative population data and exploiting variation in the timing of implementation across municipalities, we find that treated individuals enjoy higher age-specific survival rates during middle age (45-64), experience fewer hospital nights, and are less likely to be diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. These results suggest that an improved nutrition and disease environment in infancy "programmed" individuals for lower predisposition to serious adult diseases.
