Death and the City: Chicago's Mortality Transition, 1850-1925

64 Pages Posted: 7 Jul 2005 Last revised: 26 Dec 2022

See all articles by Joseph P. Ferrie

Joseph P. Ferrie

Northwestern University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Werner Troesken

University of Pittsburgh - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: June 2005

Abstract

Between 1850 and 1925, the crude death rate in Chicago fell by 60 percent, driven by reductions in infectious disease rates and infant and child mortality. What lessons might be drawn from the mortality transition in Chicago, and American cities more generally? What were the policies that had the greatest effect on infectious diseases and childhood mortality? Were there local policies that slowed the mortality transition? If the transition to low mortality in American cities was driven by forces largely outside the control of local governments (higher per capita incomes or increases in the amount and quality of calories available to urban dwellers from rising agricultural productivity), then expensive public health projects, such as the construction of public water and sewer systems, probably should have taken a back seat to broader national policies to promote overall economic growth. The introduction of pure water explains between 30 and 50 percent of Chicago's mortality decline, and that other interventions, such as the introduction of the diphtheria antitoxin and milk inspection had much smaller effects. These findings have important implications for current policy debates and economic development strategies.

Suggested Citation

Ferrie, Joseph P. and Troesken, Werner, Death and the City: Chicago's Mortality Transition, 1850-1925 (June 2005). NBER Working Paper No. w11427, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=745820

Joseph P. Ferrie (Contact Author)

Northwestern University - Department of Economics ( email )

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Werner Troesken

University of Pittsburgh - Department of Economics ( email )

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412-648-9074 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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