ACCI Conference 2024

During the late nineteenth century, half of all municipalities in the U.S. installed lead water pipes, exposing millions of people to harmful levels of lead consumption. This paper explores the long-term effects of waterborne lead exposure on men's well-being and labor market outcomes using linked samples drawn from the full count 1900, 1910 and 1940 censuses. For identification, we leverage variation in lead pipe adoption across cities and differences in the chemical properties of a town's water supply, which interact to influence the extent of lead leaching. Results show adult men with higher levels of waterborne lead exposure as children have lower incomes, worse occupations, and lower levels of completed education compared to adult men who had lower levels of waterborne lead exposure as children. In addition, men who are exposed to higher levels of waterborne lead have a significantly decreased probability of improving their income rank relative to their fathers, which is consistent with lead exposure behaving like a negative place-based shock that constrains upward mobility.

Author(s): Gisella Kagy, Dustin Frye