Evidence from the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: The Effect on Health, Education and Labor Market Outcomes in Belarus

30 Pages Posted: 20 Jun 2011

See all articles by Maksim Yemelyanau

Maksim Yemelyanau

Charles University in Prague - CERGE-EI, a joint workplace of Charles University and the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences

Aliaksandr Amialchuk

University of Toledo - Department of Economics

Mir M. Ali

University of Toledo

Date Written: June 17, 2011

Abstract

The Chernobyl nuclear accident of 1986 had deleterious health consequences for the population of Belarus, especially for children who were younger at the time of the disaster. Using the 2003-2008 waves of the Belarusian Household Survey of Income and Expenditure (BHSIE) we estimate the effect of radiation on health, education and labor market outcomes among the cohorts and the areas that varied in the amount of exposure, utilizing the nuclear accident as a natural experiment. We find that individuals who were younger in 1986 and who came from the most contaminated areas had worse health, were less likely to hold university degree, were less likely to be employed and had lower wages compared to those who were older at the time of the accident and who came from the less contaminated areas.

Keywords: Chernobyl, Belarus, health, education, wage, employment

JEL Classification: I18, I20, Q53, J24

Suggested Citation

Yemelyanau, Maksim and Amialchuk, Aliaksandr and Ali, Mir M., Evidence from the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: The Effect on Health, Education and Labor Market Outcomes in Belarus (June 17, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1866483 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1866483

Maksim Yemelyanau

Charles University in Prague - CERGE-EI, a joint workplace of Charles University and the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences ( email )

Politickych veznu 7
Prague, 111 21
Czech Republic

HOME PAGE: http://www.cerge-ei.cz

Aliaksandr Amialchuk (Contact Author)

University of Toledo - Department of Economics ( email )

Toledo, OH 43606
United States
(419) 530-5147 (Phone)
(419) 530-7844 (Fax)

Mir M. Ali

University of Toledo ( email )

United States

HOME PAGE: http://homepages.utoledo.edu/mali6/

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