Chernobyl’s subclinical legacy: Prenatal exposure to radioactive…
Title: Chernobyl’s subclinical legacy: Prenatal exposure to radioactive…
Author: Douglas Almond, Lena Edlundz, Marten Palme
Reference: [PDF-418K]Nov 2008
Abstract: We use prenatal exposure to Chernobyl fallout in Sweden as a natural experiment in cognitive ability. Students born in regions of Sweden with higher fallout performed worse in secondary school, Math in particular. Damage is accentuated within families (i.e., siblings comparison) and among children born to parents with low education. In contrast, we detect no corresponding damage to health outcomes. To the extent that parents responded to the cognitive endowment, we infer that parental investments reinforced the initial Chernobyl damage. From a public health perspective, our findings suggest that neural development is compromised at radiation doses currently considered safe.
URL: http://users.nber.org/~almond/revision_nov6.pdf
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