CRITICAL PERIODS DURING CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: van den Berg, Gerard J.; Lundborg, Petter; Nystedt, Paul; Rooth, Dan-Olof
• 署名单位: University of Mannheim; Lund University; Jonkoping University; Linnaeus University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1542-4766
• DOI: 10.1111/jeea.12112
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 1521-1557
• 关键词: fetal origins hypothesis; birth-order; developmental origins; catch-up; height; mortality; disease; stature; HEALTH; leningrad

摘要

We identify the ages that constitute sensitive (or critical) periods in children's development towards their adult health status, skills, and human capital. For this, we use data on families migrating into Sweden from countries that are poorer, with less healthy conditions. Late-life health is proxied by adult height and other adult outcomes. The relation between siblings' ages at migration and their adult outcomes allows us to estimate the causal effect of conditions at specific childhood ages. We effectively exploit that, for siblings, the migration occurs simultaneously in calendar time but at different developmental stages (ages). We find evidence that the period just before the puberty growth spurt constitutes a critical period for adult height and we find related critical periods for adult cognition, mental health, and education.