Lead exposure reduces academic performance [electronic resource] : intensity, duration, and nutrition matter / Alex Hollingsworth, Mike Huang, Ivan J. Rudik, Nicholas J. Sanders.

Cambridge, Massachusetts : National Bureau of Economic Research, 2020.©2020

Hollingsworth, Alex. author.

National Bureau of Economic Research. issuing body.

01-01-2020

1 online resource.

text

online resource

NBER working paper series ; no. w28250

Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research) ; no. w28250.

WEB (Copy 1) INTERNET 1268436-1001 ONLINE

Open item 

Lead

Educational achievement

Overseas item

"December 2020"

Includes bibliographical references.

We leverage a natural experiment, where a large national automotive racing organization switched from leaded to unleaded fuel, to study how ambient lead exposure and nutrition impact learning in elementary school. The average race emitted more than 10 kilograms of lead -- a quantity similar to the annual emissions of an airport or a median lead-emitting industrial facility in the United States. Increased levels and duration of exposure to lead negatively affect academic performance, shift the entire academic performance distribution, and negatively impact both younger and older children. We provide quasi-experimental evidence linking measured quantities of lead emissions to decreased test scores, information essential for policies addressing ambient lead and emission sources. Exposure to 10 additional kilograms of lead emissions reduces standardized test scores by 0.07 standard deviations. This corresponds to an average income reduction of $9,000 per treated student in present value terms, an effect of similar magnitude as improving teacher value added by one standard deviation, reducing class size by 10 students, or increasing school spending per pupil by $2,500. The marginal impacts of lead are larger in impoverished, non-white counties, and among students with greater duration of exposure, even after controlling for total exposure. Factors correlated with better nutrition -- most notably consumption of calcium-rich foods like milk -- help mitigate the link between lead exposure and reduced educational outcomes. These results show that improved child nutrition can help combat the negative effects of lead, addressing several prominent social issues including racial test gaps, human capital formation across income groups, and disparities in regional environmental justice.

1268436

1268436-1001

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