The importance of (early) parental investments in children’s cognitive and noncognitive outcomes is a question of deep policy significance. However, because parental investments are arguably endogenous, empirically estimating their importance poses a challenge. This paper exploits a rich and...

We study the effects of early life exposure to above average levels of rainfall on adult mental health. While we find no effect from pre-natal exposure, post-natal positive rainfall shocks decrease average Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CESD) mental health scores by 13 percent...

We examine the role of early childhood health in human capital accumulation. Using a unique data set from Ghana with comprehensive information on individual, family, community, school quality characteristics and a direct measure of intelligence together with test scores, we examine the long term...

This paper investigates the effects of prenatal exposure to extreme temperatures on birth outcomes - specifically, the log of birth weight and an indicator for low birth weight - using a nationally representative dataset in rural China. During the span of our data (i.e., 1991-2000), indoor...