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Born to be Obese and Self-Employed: Evidence of Long-Term Effects from Pre-Natal Exposure to an Acute Diarrheal Disease

Author

Listed:
  • Patricia I. Ritter

    (University of Connecticut)

  • Ricardo Sanchez

    (Ministerio de Educacion del Peru)

Abstract

This paper finds that women exposed to Cholera while in-utero are more likely to be obese, more likely to be self-employed and less likely to be employed in the service sector, providing evidence that these women may be suffering from discrimination in the labor market. This study suggests that, given the widespread incidencen of diarrheal diseases in the developing world, individ-uals in poor countries are born more vulnerable to becoming obese and self-employed, and, therefore, interventions that reduce these diseases will have important additional benefits as the obesity epidemic continue to expand in these countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Patricia I. Ritter & Ricardo Sanchez, 2019. "Born to be Obese and Self-Employed: Evidence of Long-Term Effects from Pre-Natal Exposure to an Acute Diarrheal Disease," Working papers 2019-16, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:uct:uconnp:2019-16
    as

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    File URL: https://media.economics.uconn.edu/working/2019-16.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Obesity; acute diarrheal diseases; Cholera ; clean water; in-utero;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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