The Long Run Impacts of Early Life Events III

This conference on the 'Long-run Impacts of Early Life Events,' brought together leading researchers to engage in a broad discussion of new findings and avenues for future research in this area.  The conference featured paper and poster presentations from a range of scientific disciplines, including economics, demography, epidemiology, and human development.

It was the third in a series of conferences examining the long-run impact of early life events and highlighting the importance of this emerging area of study.  The goal of these conferences has been to accelerate the pace of research on this topic and improve our understanding about the nature and pathways by which these effects arise; to raise awareness in the research and policy communities about the long-run impact of early life investments; and to facilitate stronger communications and collaboration among researchers from various disciplines who are working on this topic. 

To date, scientists from psychology, sociology, economics, history, public health, and medicine have all made significant contributions to this literature.  However, these literatures rarely intersect; parallel literatures have grown up within each discipline without full understanding and recognition of the contributions of each.  The events in early life and the long run outcomes in late life examined across these disciplines are most often highly correlated.  As a result, science would benefit from direct collaboration between scientists with expertise in these different domains, or at a minimum recognition of the related literatures in this area.

Sponsors and Organizers

This conference was jointly sponsored by the National Poverty Center at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, the Center for Human Potential and Public Policy at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy Studies, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics through a grant from the National Institute on Aging, and the Network on Effects of Early Life Conditions on Aging of the Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging. 

It was organized by Robert Schoeni, University of Michigan, Ariel Kalil, University of Chicago, and Thomas McDade, Northwestern University.

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Agenda and Conference Presentations

Thursday, May 5

    9:45 AM - 10:15 AM

Welcome and Introduction
Robert Schoeni, University of Michigan


    10:15 AM - 11 AM

The Gender Gap in Healthy Life Expectancy: Does Women's Longer Life in Worse Health Compared to Men Originate in Early Life?
Mark Hayward, Jennifer Karas Montez, and Dustin C. Brown, University of Texas - Austin

    11 AM - 11:15 AM

Break

    11:15 AM - 12 PM

Early Childhood Poverty and Adult Productivity and Health
Greg J. Duncan, University of California - Irvine, Ariel Kalil, University of Chicago and Kathleen M. Ziol-Guest, Cornell University




    12:00 AM - 12:45 PM

The Effect of the Business Cycle at the Time of Birth on Cognitive Functioning Later in Life
Gabriele Doblhammer, University of Rostock

    12:45 PM - 2:00 PM

Lunch

    2:00 PM - 2:45 PM

Paternal and Maternal Age and Their Effects on Adult Offspring Mortality and Morbidity
Ken Smith, University of Utah




    2:45 PM - 3:30 PM Fasting During Pregnancy and Children's Academic Performance
Bhash Mazumder, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Douglas Almond Columbia University, and Reyn Van Ewijk, VU University Amsterdam

    3:30 PM - 3:45 PM Break

    3:45 PM - 4:30 PM The Biological Residue of Early-Life Socioeconomic Adversity
Greg Miller, University of British Columbia - Vancouver

    4:30 PM - 5:45 PM Break

    4:45 PM - 6:00 PM Poster Session

Race Differences in Stress during Pregnancy:  A Mechanism for Prenatal Origins of Health Disparities?
Elizabeth Sweet, Thom McDade, and Chris Kuzawa, Northwestern University

Childhood Misfortune and Adult Health:  Enduring Effects on Somatic and Psychological Symptoms?
Ken Ferraro and Markus Schafer, Purdue University

Childhood Morbidity and Health in Early Adulthood: Life Course Linkages in Guatemala
Rachel Margolis, University of Pennsylvania

Childhood Socioeconomic Status Influences Health Among Offspring Hannah Schreier, University of British Columbia - Vancouver

Chill Out, Mom: Extreme Cold Induced Maternal Stress in Utero and Later Outcomes
Charles Stoecker, University of California - Davis

Discrimination Begins in the Womb: Evidence of Sex-selective Prenatal Investments
Prashant Bharadwaj and Leah K. Nelson, University of California - San Diego

Early Origins of Mortality and Fertility among Siblings: Prenatal Exposures to Drought and Food Shortages among Early Utah Pioneers
Heidi Hanson and Ken Smith, University of Utah

The Effects of Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Ability on the Height Premium
Andreas Schick, Ohio State University

The Effect of Maternal Stress on Birth Outcomes: Exploiting a Natural Experiment
Florencia Torche, New York University

The Effects of Skipping Breakfast by Pregnant Mothers on the Sex Ratio at Birth
Bhash Mazumder, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Zachary Seeskin

Functional Somatic Syndromes and Childhood Physical Abuse in Women: Data from a Representative Community-based Sample
Esme Fuller-Thomson, Joanne Sulman, Sarah Brennenstuhl, and Moeza Merchant, University of Toronto

Gender Differences in the Early Life Origins of Midlife Functional Limitations
Jennifer Montez, University of Texas - Austin

The Long-Run Effects of Early Childhood Housing Instability
Kathleen M. Ziol-Guest, Cornell University and Ariel Kalil, University of Chicago 

Scheduled Versus Demand Feeding of Infants: Maternal Wellbeing and Child Cognitive Outcomes
Maria Iacovou, University of Essex

Social Influences on the Gut Microbiome
Amita Kapoor, University of Wisconsin – Madison

War, Marriage and Children's Human Capital
Marianne Page, University of California – Davis

    6:30 PM Dinner




Friday, May 6     9:00 AM - 9:45 AM Developmental Origins of Health Disparities
Chris Kuzawa, Northwestern University

    9:45 AM - 10:00 AM Break

    10:00 AM - 10:45 AM Developmental Origins of Immune Health and Vulnerabilities
Christopher Coe, University of Wisconsin - Madison

    10:45 AM - 11:00 AM Break

    11:00 AM - 11:45 AM New Findings about the Relation between Childhood Health on Adult Well-being
Alberto Palloni, University of Wisconsin - Madison

    11:45 AM - 12:45 AM Lunch

    12:45 AM - 1:30 PM School Quality and the Long-Run Effects of Head Start
Rucker Johnson, University of California – Berkeley

    1:30 PM - 1:45 PM Break

    1:45 PM - 2:30 PM Severe Childhood Deprivation and Wealth Accumulation: American Slaves and Post-Emancipation Blacks
Richard Steckel, Ohio State University

    2:30 PM Closing Remarks
Ariel Kalil, University of Chicago

Related Resources
The Long-run Impacts of Early Life Events I
December 13 – 14, 2007
http://npc.umich.edu/news/events/early_life/index.php

The Long-run Impacts of Early Life Events II
March 12 – 13, 2009
http://npc.umich.edu/news/events/early_life_2009/index.php

Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID)
http://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/

Center for Human Potential and Public Policy at The Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago
http://harrisschool.uchicago.edu/centers/chppp/

Network on the Effects of Early Life Conditions on Aging, Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging
http://micda.psc.isr.umich.edu/networks/eelca.html