TY  - JOUR
AU  - Ding,Weili
AU  - Lehrer,Steven F.
AU  - Rosenquist,J. Niels
AU  - Audrain-McGovern,Janet
TI  - The Impact of Poor Health on Education: New Evidence Using Genetic Markers
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 12304
PY  - 2006
Y2  - June 2006
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12304
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12304.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Weili Ding
Queens University
138 Union Street
Sutherland Hall
Kingston
Ontario  K7L 3N6
Canada
Tel: 613-533-6000x78784
Fax: 613-533-2135
E-Mail: dingw@queensu.ca

Steven F. Lehrer
School of Policy Studies
and Department of Economics
Queen's University
Kingston, ON K7L 3N6
CANADA
Tel: 613/533-6692
Fax: 613/533-2135
E-Mail: lehrers@post.queensu.ca

J. Niels Rosenquist
University of Pennsylvania
E-Mail: jrosenqu@gmail.com
M2  - featured in NBER digest on 2006-06-19
AB  - This paper examines the influence of health conditions on academic performance during adolescence. To account for the endogeneity of health outcomes and their interactions with risky behaviors we exploit natural variation within a set of genetic markers across individuals. We present strong evidence that these genetic markers serve as valid instruments with good statistical properties for ADHD, depression and obesity. They help to reveal a new dynamism from poor health to lower academic achievement with substantial heterogeneity in their impacts across genders. Our investigation further exposes the considerable challenges in identifying health impacts due to the prevalence of comorbid health conditions and endogenous health behaviors.
ER  -