The Impact of Health on Academic Performance: New Evidence Using Genetic Markers
- Presenter:
Mon June 5, 2006 9:30-10:45 Room Alumni Lounge
The causal effect of health on education outcomes remains an open question since numerous unobserved factors may explain the correlation between health and education. Using a very rich data set that tracks 900 students through high school and an instrumental variables strategy we estimate the causal impact of obesity, ADHD and depression on adolescent academic performance by exploiting variation in genetic markers. Our data contains direct measures of four genes, whose strong associations with the health outcomes considered in our study are well established in the scientific literature. We also account for endogenous health behaviors such as regular smoking that may influence the health outcomes observed. We present evidence that these genetic markers and their interactions are valid instruments with good statistical properties, revealing a new dynamism from health to education. We find substantial heterogeneity in the effects of health on academic performance. Poor physical and mental health status have a strongly perverse effect on the academic performance of female students which, while of great policy importance, requires additional investigations.
