Historical migration and contemporary health
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Historical migration and contemporary health. / Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck; Dalgaard, Carl Johan; Skovsgaard, Christian Volmer; Selaya, Pablo.
In: Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 73, No. 3, 01.07.2021, p. 955-981.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Historical migration and contemporary health
AU - Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck
AU - Dalgaard, Carl Johan
AU - Skovsgaard, Christian Volmer
AU - Selaya, Pablo
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Oxford University Press 2021. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/7/1
Y1 - 2021/7/1
N2 - We argue that migration during the last 500 years induced differences in contemporary health outcomes. The theory behind our analysis builds on three physiological facts. First, vitamin D deficiency is directly associated with higher risk of all-cause mortality. Second, the ability of humans to synthesize vitamin D from sunlight (UV-R) declines with skin pigmentation. Third, skin pigmentation is the result of an evolutionary compromise between higher risk of vitamin D deficiency and lower risk of skin cancer. When individuals from high UV-R regions migrate to low UV-R regions, the risk of vitamin D deficiency rises markedly. We develop a measure that allows us to empirically explore the aggregate health consequences of such migration in a long historical perspective. We find that the potential risk of vitamin D deficiency induced by migration during the last half millennium is a robust predictor of present-day aggregate health indicators.
AB - We argue that migration during the last 500 years induced differences in contemporary health outcomes. The theory behind our analysis builds on three physiological facts. First, vitamin D deficiency is directly associated with higher risk of all-cause mortality. Second, the ability of humans to synthesize vitamin D from sunlight (UV-R) declines with skin pigmentation. Third, skin pigmentation is the result of an evolutionary compromise between higher risk of vitamin D deficiency and lower risk of skin cancer. When individuals from high UV-R regions migrate to low UV-R regions, the risk of vitamin D deficiency rises markedly. We develop a measure that allows us to empirically explore the aggregate health consequences of such migration in a long historical perspective. We find that the potential risk of vitamin D deficiency induced by migration during the last half millennium is a robust predictor of present-day aggregate health indicators.
KW - Faculty of Social Sciences
KW - Health
KW - Demographic Economics
KW - Economics of Minorities
KW - Races
KW - Indigenous people
KW - non-labor discrimination
U2 - 10.1093/oep/gpaa047
DO - 10.1093/oep/gpaa047
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85100233893
VL - 73
SP - 955
EP - 981
JO - Oxford Economic Papers
JF - Oxford Economic Papers
SN - 0030-7653
IS - 3
ER -
ID: 276915885