Title: Understanding the Effects of Education on Health

Speaker: Wei Huang, Harvard University

Time: August 30th, 2016 13:30–15:00 

Venue: Room 102, Zhonghui Building (College of Economics, JNU)

Abstract: 

Using temporal and geographical variation in the implementation of compulsory schooling laws in China, I show that education significantly reduces the rates of reported fair or poor health, underweight, and smoking, and enhances cognition. Investigating the mechanisms finds that cognition and income only explain 15 percent and 7 percent of the effects on self-reported health. Spillovers from increased education of other people in the local region could explain over 25 percent. These findings present new evidence for the causal effects of education on health and help to reconcile the mixed findings in the literature.