When It Rains It Pours: The Long-run Economic Impacts of Salt Iodization in the United States

Cognitive consequences of iodine deficiency in adolescence: evidence from salt iodization in Denmark*

“…Iodine deficiency disorders are much more prevalent among women than men (Pedersen et al., 2002; Vanderpump, 2011) and a number of studies find larger effects of in utero exposure to iodine deficiency among women (Field et al., 2009; Politi, 2010; Adhvaryu et al., 2020). The medical reasons for this gender difference is not well understood.…”

“…The Scandinavian Journal of Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Föreningen för utgivande av the SJE. (Field et al, 2009;Politi, 2010;Adhvaryu et al, 2020). The medical reasons for this gender difference is not well understood.…”

“…Today, iodine deficiency is recognized as the leading cause of preventable mental retardation (WHO et al, 2007) and recent studies in economics have shown that the introduction of iodized salt in the US and Switzerland increased the average IQ, educational attainment, and adult earnings of individuals exposed while in utero (Politi, 2010(Politi, , 2015Feyrer et al, 2017;Adhvaryu et al, 2020).…”

“…Most studies of the benefits of salt iodization consider recent policies in poor countries (Field et al., 2009; Huang et al., 2020; Bengtsson et al., 2020) or historical policies in rich countries (Politi, 2010, 2015; Feyrer et al., 2017; Adhvaryu et al., 2020). I study a recent salt iodization policy in a wealthy country in Europe.…”

Educational, Labor-Market and Intergenerational Consequences of Poor Childhood Health

“…Many studies focus on interventions during infancy or very early in life such as access to infant health care centers and their impact on socioeconomic outcomes(Bütikofer et al 2019) or the introduction of a home visiting program and its impact on health outcomes(Hjort et al 2017). Other childhood health interventions shown to have affected socioeconomic outcomes include improvements in nutrition(Adhvaryu et al 2020). Studies that examine health outcomes exploit variation in early-life health that stems from the introduction of sulfa drugs(Jayachandran et al 2010) or the eradication of malaria(Hong 2007).…”