Anna Aizer - Brown University
Lead and Juvenile Delinquency: New Evidence from Linked Birth, School and Crime Records
Date: 09/22/2016 (Thu)
Time: 3:30pm- 5:00pm
Location: Seminar will be held on-site: Gross Hall 270
Organizer: Seth Sanders
Meeting Schedule: Login or email the organizer to schedule a meeting.
All meetings will be held in the same location as the seminar unless otherwise noted.
8:30am - Breakfast-Elizabeth Annant (Washington Duke)
9:30am - Phil Cook (215 Sanford)
10:00am - Walk to Gross Hall w/Phil Cook
10:15am - Robert Garlick
10:45am - Break
11:00am - Matt Johnson
11:30am - Joe Hotz
12:00pm - Lunch- Emma Zang, Rebecca Lehrman, Laura Bellows, Patricia Homan
1:30pm - Marcos Rangel
2:00pm - Manoj Mohanan
2:30pm - Giovanna Merli
3:00pm - Seminar Prep
3:30pm - Seminar Presentation (3:30pm to 5:00pm)
5:30pm - Dinner- Bleu Olive w/ Seth Sanders, Marcos Rangel, Marc Jeuland, Melinda Morrill (NC State)
6:50pm - Car Service to Airport from Bleu Olive
Additional Comments: Using individually linked data for all RI children born between 1991 and 2005 that includes early childhood blood lead levels, in-school disciplinary infractions and juvenile detention, we estimate the impact of early lead exposure on future delinquency. For identification, we exploit the fact that proximity to roadways is associated with greater exposure to lead, but that the strength of this relationship has declined over time with the de-leading of gasoline. Exploiting within neighborhood variation in road proximity as an instrument for lead exposure, we find that exposure to lead is associated with a significantly greater likelihood of in-school disciplinary infractions and juvenile detention. The IV results are largely consistent, though slightly larger, than estimates based on sibling comparisons. We show that this can be explained by both measurement error in lead levels that bias down OLS estimates and a local average treatment effect interpretation of the IV estimates.