IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/uwa/wpaper/21-04.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

How Smart is SunSmart? Skin Cancer Information Campaigns, Sunlight Exposure, and Asthma in Australia

Author

Listed:

Abstract

We exploit spatial and temporal variation in sunlight radiation across Australia to document the relationship between in utero sunlight exposure and later-life asthma. We find that respondents who experienced above-average levels of sunlight in the nine months prior to their birth are 4.7 percentage points less likely to have been diagnosed with asthma. Next, we turn to the puzzle that despite being one of the sunniest countries, Australia has one of the highest rates of asthma prevalence. The explanation appears to be the Australians’ rising propensity to avoid the sun. A comparison of contemporaneous sunlight and the time Australians spend outdoors shows that younger generations are actively avoiding the sun. Using data on the year of establishment and financial standing of the Cancer Councils in different states, we show that SunSmart awareness campaigns about the harmful effects of sun exposure have triggered this behaviour, and may be unintentionally contributing to the rising rates of asthma in Australia.

Suggested Citation

  • Tushar Bharati & Samuel Rapeport, 2021. "How Smart is SunSmart? Skin Cancer Information Campaigns, Sunlight Exposure, and Asthma in Australia," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 21-04, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwa:wpaper:21-04
    Note: MD5 = c5e555ab928d67a8760a7ff7ca6b40bf
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ecompapers.biz.uwa.edu.au/paper/PDF%20of%20Discussion%20Papers/2021/DP%2021.04_Bharati%20and%20Rapeport.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jennifer Trudeau & Karen Smith Conway & Andrea Kutinova Menclova, 2016. "Soaking Up the Sun: The Role of Sunshine in the Production of Infant Health," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-40, January.
    2. Nils Wernerfelt & David J. G. Slusky & Richard Zeckhauser, 2017. "Second Trimester Sunlight and Asthma: Evidence from Two Independent Studies," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 3(2), pages 227-253, Spring.
    3. Jennifer Trudeau & Karen Smith Conway & Andrea Kutinova Menclova, 2016. "Soaking Up the Sun: The Role of Sunshine in the Production of Infant Health," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-40, Winter.
    4. Sharon Maccini & Dean Yang, 2009. "Under the Weather: Health, Schooling, and Economic Consequences of Early-Life Rainfall," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(3), pages 1006-1026, June.
    5. Kasey S. Buckles & Daniel M. Hungerman, 2013. "Season of Birth and Later Outcomes: Old Questions, New Answers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(3), pages 711-724, July.
    6. 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.
    7. Petra Persson & Maya Rossin-Slater, 2018. "Family Ruptures, Stress, and the Mental Health of the Next Generation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(4-5), pages 1214-1252, April.
    8. Sandra E. Black & Paul J. Devereux & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2016. "Does Grief Transfer across Generations? Bereavements during Pregnancy and Child Outcomes," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 193-223, January.
    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. Zhang, Xin & Wang, Yixuan & Chen, Xi & Zhang, Xun, 2019. "Prenatal Sunshine Exposure and Birth Outcomes in China," IZA Discussion Papers 12877, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Berthelon, Matias & Kruger, Diana & Sanchez, Rafael, 2021. "Maternal stress during pregnancy and early childhood development," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    3. Nils Wernerfelt & David J. G. Slusky & Richard Zeckhauser, 2017. "Second Trimester Sunlight and Asthma: Evidence from Two Independent Studies," American Journal of Health Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(2), pages 227-253, Spring.
    4. Conway, Karen Smith & Trudeau, Jennifer, 2019. "Sunshine, fertility and racial disparities," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 18-39.
    5. Luis A. Serratos-Sotelo & Peter Eibich, 2021. "Lasting effects of parental death during childhood: evidence from Sweden," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2021-007, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    6. Miller, Ray, 2017. "Childhood Health and Prenatal Exposure to Seasonal Food Scarcity in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 350-376.
    7. Hope Corman & Dhaval Dave & Nancy E. Reichman, 2018. "Evolution of the Infant Health Production Function," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(1), pages 6-47, July.
    8. Chen, Xi, 2022. "Early Life Circumstances and the Health of Older Adults: A Research Note," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1158, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Krzysztof Karbownik & Anthony Wray, 2019. "Long-Run Consequences of Exposure to Natural Disasters," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(3), pages 949-1007.
    10. Hoa Vu, 2024. "I wish I were born in another time: Unintended consequences of immigration enforcement on birth outcomes," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 345-362, February.
    11. Ahammer, Alexander & Halla, Martin & Schneeweis, Nicole, 2020. "The effect of prenatal maternity leave on short and long-term child outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    12. Bharati, Tushar, 2022. "The long shadow of the Kargil War: The effect of early-life stress on education," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    13. Rita Ginja & Jenny Jans & Arizo Karimi, 2020. "Parental Leave Benefits, Household Labor Supply, and Children’s Long-Run Outcomes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(1), pages 261-320.
    14. Chloe N. East & Sarah Miller & Marianne Page & Laura R. Wherry, 2023. "Multigenerational Impacts of Childhood Access to the Safety Net: Early Life Exposure to Medicaid and the Next Generation's Health," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(1), pages 98-135, January.
    15. 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.
    16. Anna Raute & Andrea Weber & Galina Zudenkova, 2022. "Can public policy increase paternity acknowledgment? Evidence from earnings-related parental leave," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2206, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    17. Da Mata, Daniel & Emanuel, Lucas & Pereira, Vitor & Sampaio, Breno, 2023. "Climate adaptation policies and infant health: Evidence from a water policy in Brazil," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    18. Chuard, Caroline, 2020. "Womb at work: The missing impact of maternal employment on newborn health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    19. 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.
    20. Guldi, Melanie & Hamersma, Sarah, 2023. "The effects of pregnancy-related Medicaid expansions on maternal, infant, and child health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

    More about this item

    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:uwa:wpaper:21-04. 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: Sam Tang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deuwaau.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.