Anna Aizer (Brown University) will present:
"Lead and Juvenile Delinquency: New Evidence from Linked Birth, School and Juvenile Detention Records"
at 3:00pm on Wednesday, November 15, 2017 in 310 Silsby.

Please sign up for a meeting or lunch at:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pHXCjeCAPoobHqx0P6KWWnHHmFAbJL2W9IGKejDnuqM/edit?usp=sharing

ABSTRACT:
Using a unique dataset linking preschool blood lead levels (BLLs), birth, school, and detention records for 125,000 children born between 1990 and 2004 in Rhode Island, we estimate the impact of lead
on behavior: school suspensions and juvenile detention. Sibling fixed effect models suggest that with our rich set of controls, omitted variables related to family disadvantage is not a major source of bias to OLS estimates. However, measurement error is. To address bias from omitted variables and measurement error we use IV methods that exploit very local, within neighborhood, variation in lead exposure that derives from road proximity and the de-leading of gasoline. We find that OLS understates the negative effects of lead, suggesting that measurement error is more important than bias from omitted variables. Our estimates are only significantly different from zero for boys. For boys, a one-unit increase in lead increased the probability of suspension from school by roughly 6 percent and the probability of detention by 57 percent.




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