American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Medical Technology and Life Expectancy: Evidence from the Antitoxin Treatment of Diphtheria
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
(pp. 441–76)
Abstract
We examine the impact of the free supply of diphtheria antitoxin, the first effective medical treatment for an infectious disease, on the historical health transition in Massachusetts. Using newly collected municipality-level data on the distribution of antitoxin and information from over 1.5 million death certificates from 1880 to 1914, we find that the rapid availability of antitoxin treatment significantly increased life expectancy at young ages. Our findings suggest that medicine, combined with an effective public health policy, played a more important role in improving life expectancy in the early twentieth century than previously thought.Citation
Ager, Philipp, Casper W. Hansen, and Peter Z. Lin. 2026. "Medical Technology and Life Expectancy: Evidence from the Antitoxin Treatment of Diphtheria." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 18 (2): 441–76. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20240087Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
- I12 Health Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913