IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp14443.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Bombing and the Two Vietnams

Author

Listed:
  • Vuong, Vu

    (University of Western Australia)

  • Chang, Simon

    (University of Western Australia)

  • Palmer, Michael

    (University of Western Australia)

Abstract

The Vietnam War occurred when Vietnam was divided into two states with contrasting institutions. North Vietnam was characterized by a command economy under a stable political regime, whereas South Vietnam experienced a market economy and prolonged political instability. This paper uses this context to investigate the heterogeneous effect of childhood bombing exposure on health in adulthood. On average we found negative long-term effects on adult height and body mass index among the South Vietnamese population, while their counterparts in the North were barely affected. We argue that this heterogeneity is most likely attributable to the interplay of institutions and bombing.

Suggested Citation

  • Vuong, Vu & Chang, Simon & Palmer, Michael, 2021. "Bombing and the Two Vietnams," IZA Discussion Papers 14443, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14443
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp14443.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Douglas Almond & Janet Currie & Valentina Duque, 2018. "Childhood Circumstances and Adult Outcomes: Act II," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1360-1446, December.
    2. Thuan Q. Thai & Evangelos M. Falaris, 2014. "Child Schooling, Child Health, and Rainfall Shocks: Evidence from Rural Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(7), pages 1025-1037, July.
    3. Bertoni, Eleonora & Di Maio, Michele & Molini, Vasco & Nisticò, Roberto, 2019. "Education is forbidden: The effect of the Boko Haram conflict on education in North-East Nigeria," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    4. Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude & Yuksel, Mutlu, 2017. "Heterogeneity in the long term health effects of warfare," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 27(PA), pages 126-136.
    5. Mevlude Akbulut-Yuksel, 2014. "Children of War: The Long-Run Effects of Large-Scale Physical Destruction and Warfare on Children," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 49(3), pages 634-662.
    6. Richard Akresh & Sonia Bhalotra & Marinella Leone & Una Osili, 2023. "First- and Second-Generation Impacts of the Biafran War," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(2), pages 488-531.
    7. Douglas Almond & Janet Currie, 2011. "Killing Me Softly: The Fetal Origins Hypothesis," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 153-172, Summer.
    8. Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude, 2017. "War during childhood: The long run effects of warfare on health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 117-130.
    9. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    10. Christopher Blattman & Edward Miguel, 2010. "Civil War," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 3-57, March.
    11. van den Berg, Gerard J. & Doblhammer, Gabriele & Christensen, Kaare, 2009. "Exogenous determinants of early-life conditions, and mortality later in life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(9), pages 1591-1598, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fredah Guantai & Yoko Kijima, 2020. "Ethnic Violence and Birth Outcomes: Evidence From Exposure to the 1992 Conflict in Kenya," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(2), pages 423-444, April.
    2. Martin Philipp Heger & Eric Neumayer, 2022. "Economic legacy effects of armed conflict: Insights from the civil war in Aceh, Indonesia," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 39(4), pages 394-421, July.
    3. Richard Akresh & Sonia Bhalotra & Marinella Leone & Una Osili, 2023. "First- and Second-Generation Impacts of the Biafran War," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(2), pages 488-531.
    4. Li, Jian & Koulovatianos, Christos, 2020. "The long shadows of war in China: Battle shocks in early life and health/wealth accumulation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    5. Abeliansky, Ana Lucia & Strulik, Holger, 2018. "Hungry children age faster," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 211-220.
    6. Richard Akresh & Sonia Bhalotra & Marinella Leone & Una Osili, 2017. "Hunger Games: First and Second Generation Impacts of the Biafran War," HiCN Working Papers 254, Households in Conflict Network.
    7. Mounu Prem & Juan F. Vargas & Olga Namen, 2023. "The Human Capital Peace Dividend," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(3), pages 962-1002.
    8. Sulin Sardoschau, 2019. "Children of War: In-Utero Stress and Child Health in Iraq," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-02383137, HAL.
    9. Grossman, Daniel & Khalil, Umair & Ray, Arijit, 2019. "Terrorism and early childhood health outcomes: Evidence from Pakistan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 1-1.
    10. Dagnelie, Olivier & Luca, Giacomo Davide De & Maystadt, Jean-François, 2018. "Violence, selection and infant mortality in Congo," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 153-177.
    11. Yamada, Hiroyuki & Matsushima, Midori, 2020. "Impacts of long-lasting civil conflicts on education: Evidence from the 2014 Census of Myanmar," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    12. Gabriella Conti, 2013. "The Developmental Origins of Health Inequality," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Health and Inequality, volume 21, pages 285-309, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    13. Gerard J. van den Berg & Pia R. Pinger & Johannes Schoch, 2016. "Instrumental Variable Estimation of the Causal Effect of Hunger Early in Life on Health Later in Life," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 465-506, March.
    14. Sulin Sardoschau, 2023. "In-utero Exposure to Violence and Child Health in Iraq," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 452, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    15. Hönig, Tillman, 2017. "The Impact of Peace: Evidence from Nigeria," MPRA Paper 83302, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Kerstin Unfried & Krisztina Kis-Katos, 2023. "The heterogeneous effects of conflict on education: A spatial analysis in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 60(6), pages 968-984, November.
    17. Angelini, Viola & Mierau, Jochen O. & Viluma, Laura, 2021. "Socioeconomic Conditions in Childhood and Mental Health Later in Life," GLO Discussion Paper Series 844, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    18. Rakesh Banerjee & Tushar Bharati, 2021. "Mass shootings and Infant Health in the United States," HiCN Working Papers 346, Households in Conflict Network.
    19. Reyn van Ewijk & Maarten Lindeboom, 2016. "Why people born during World War II are healthier," Working Papers 1619, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    20. Rakesh Banerjee & Tushar Bharati, 2020. "Mass shootings and Infant Health in the United States," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 20-16, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    bombing; body mass index; institutions; nutrition transition; Vietnam;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • N45 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Asia including Middle East

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14443. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.