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Transportation and Health in the Antebellum United States, 1820–1847

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  • Zimran, Ariell

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.

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  • Zimran, Ariell, 2020. "Transportation and Health in the Antebellum United States, 1820–1847," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 80(3), pages 670-709, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:80:y:2020:i:3:p:670-709_2
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    Cited by:

    1. Bogart, Dan, 2022. "Infrastructure and institutions: Lessons from history," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Schneider, Eric B., 2023. "The determinants of child stunting and shifts in the growth pattern of children: a long-run, global review," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120392, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Ciccarelli, Carlo & Fenske, James & Martí Henneberg, Jordi, 2023. "Railways and the European Fertility Transition," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1477, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    4. Marein, Brian, 2022. "Colonial Roads and Regional Inequality," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).

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