The Effect of Education on Health and Mortality: The Case of the Rosenwald School Building Initiative

The Effect of Education on Health and Mortality: The Case of the Rosenwald School Building Initiative
This pilot award studies the effects of education on health and mortality for African-American men and women born in 11 southern states between 1916 and 1936, and educated in the Rosenwald Schools. From 1914 to 1931 the Rosenwald School Initiative program constructed nearly 5,000 schools in the southern United States. This study codes the exact birth place of nearly 4 million respondents in the National Longitudinal Mortality Survey, by matching this data to the Social Security Numident File and codifying the write-in response to “town of birth” into standard geographic codes. As a result of this coding, the file now includes information on place, of birth (allowing each respondent to be placed relative to Rosenwald Schools and railroad lines), education and mortality. This information marks the independent effects of access to quality education and migration on mortality.  These data are used in the analysis of the effects of education on health and mortality among African Americans during this period.

Academic Year
2013-2014
Primary Funding Agency
NIA/CPHA Pilot