Long run effects and intergenerational transmission of natural disasters: A case study on the 1970 Ancash Earthquake

This study estimates the effects of the 1970 Ancash earthquake on human capital accumulation on the affected and subsequent generation, 37 years after the shock, using Peruvian census of 1993 and 2007. The main finding is that males affected by the earthquake in utero completed on average 0.5 years less schooling while females affected by the earthquake completed 0.8 years less schooling. Moreover those affected by the earthquake also fare far worse in the marriage market and become parents at a much younger age. In addition children of mothers affected at birth by the earthquake have 0.4 less years of education, while those whose fathers were affected at birth show no effects. Other outcomes also suggest that welfare of the affected individuals has been negatively impacted in the long run. This research supports previous literature on shocks in early childhood, providing evidence of the existence of intergenerational transmission of shocks. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.