Full Citation

Title: Transportation and Health in the Antebellum United States 1820-1847

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2019

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI: DOI 10.3386/w24943

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: I study the impact of transportation on health in the rural United States, 1820-1847. Measuring health by average stature, I find that greater transportation linkage, as measured by market access, in a cohort's county-year of birth had an adverse impact on its health. A one-standard-deviation increase in market access reduced average stature by 0.14 inches, and rising market access over the study period can explain 37 percent of the contemporaneous decline in average stature, known as the Antebellum Puzzle. I find evidence that transportation affected health by increasing population density, leading to a worse epidemiological environment.

Url: https://www.nber.org/papers/w24943

User Submitted?: Yes

Authors: Zimran, Ariell

Series Title: NBER Working Papers

Publication Number: 24943

Institution: NBER

Pages: 1

Publisher Location:

Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Health

Countries: