Disease and Gender Gaps in Human Capital Investment: Evidence from Niger's 1986 Meningitis Epidemic
研究1986年尼日尔脑膜炎流行对女孩教育的影响，发现疫情显著减少了高暴露地区小学适龄女孩的受教育年限，但对男孩无显著影响，揭示了疾病负担加剧教育性别差距的机制。
This paper examines whether disease burdens, especially prevalent in the tropics, contribute significantly to widening gender gaps in educational attainment. We estimate the impact of sudden exposure to the 1986 meningitis epidemic in Niger on girls' education relative to boys. Our results suggest that increases in meningitis cases during epidemic years significantly reduce years of education disproportionately for primary school-aged going girls in areas with higher meningitis exposure. There is no significant effect for boys in the same cohort and no effects of meningitis exposure for non-epidemic years. Our findings have broader implications for climate-induced disease effects on social inequality.