Bhash Mazumder

Working Papers:

Cycles of Malnutrition: Intergenerational Health Transmission in India with Santosh Gautam and Timothy Halliday, IZA working paper no. 17684

Schooling and Political Activism in the Early Civil Rights Era with Dan Aaronson, Mark Borgschulte and Sunny Liu, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2024-06

Water Works: Causes and Consequences of Safe Drinking Water in America with Dave Keiser, David Molitor and Joseph Shapiro (R&R at Quarterly Journal of Economics)

The Effects of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs on Labor Market Activity and Credit Outcomes with Sumedha Gupta, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2023-13 

Understanding Sibling Correlations in Education: Molecular Genetics and Family Background, with Jason Fletcher, IZA Discussion Paper No. 15862.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Geography of Intergenerational Mobility with Jonathan Davis.  SSRN Working Paper

Early Life Environment and Racial Inequality in Education and Earnings in the United States with Kenneth Chay and Jonathan Guryan.  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2014-28, NBER working paper 20539. 

Birth Cohort and the Black-White Achievement Gap: The Role of Access and Health Soon After Birth with Kenneth Chay and Jonathan Guryan.  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2008-20, NBER working paper w15078. (Revise and resubmit at Quarterly Journal of  Economics)  Featured in Wall Street Journal, October 8, 2009 pA2: Wider Health-Care Access Pays Off, by David Wessel.      Podcast at the University of Bristol 

Work in Progress:

Intergenerational Persistence of Health in Indonesia with Timothy Halliday, Kompal Sinha and Huixia Wang

The Effects of Lead Exposure on Military Test Scores with Joseph Ferrie and Karl Schulze

Intergenerational and Place-based Effects of the Rosenwald Schools  with Dan Aaronson, Mark Borgschulte and Martha Stinson.

The Long-Run Effects of Urban Renewal Programs with Dan Hartley, Ying Shi and Martha Stinson

Maternal Exposure to Violence During the Mexican Drug War and Birth Outcomes: Evidence from Cities with Close Elections with Patrick Collard

The Effects of Brownfields Remediation on Socioeconomic Outcomes

Published Papers:

The Lasting Impact of Historical Residential Security Maps on Experienced Segregation with Dan Aaronson, Joel Kaiyuan Han and Dan Hartley, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2023-33, Real Estate Economics, 2025.

Estimating Intergenerational Health Transmission in Taiwan Using Administrative Health Records with Harrison Chang, Ming-Jen Lin and Timothy Halliday,  IZA DP No. 16543, Journal of Public Economics (free access),  2024.

Do Earmarks Target Low-Income and Minority Communities? Evidence from US Drinking Water with Dave Keiser, David Molitor, Joseph Shapiro and Brant Walker,  AEA Papers and Proceedings ,  NBER working paper 32058 

The Intergenerational Transmission of Mental and Physical Health in the United Kingdom with Panka Bencsik and Tim Halliday.  Journal of Health Economics, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2021-3.

The Decline in Intergenerational Mobility After 1980 with Jonathan Davis, Forthcoming at Review of Economics and Statistics, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2017-05. 

The Long-Run Effects of the 1930s HOLC “Redlining” Maps on Children with Dan Aaronson, Dan Hartley, and Martha Stinson.  Journal of Economic Literature, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2022-13.

Measuring Intergenerational Income Mobility: A Synthesis of Approaches with Nathan Deutscher.  Journal of Economic Literature.  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2021-09.

The Early Origins of the Civil Rights Movement in the US: An Analysis of the Growth of the NAACP with Dan Aaronson, Jala Abner and Mark Borgschulte.  Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance, 2023.

The Effects of the Great Migration on Urban Renewal with Ying Shi, Daniel Hartley, and Aastha Rajan.  Journal of Public Economics, 2022.  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2021-4. 

Estimated Mortality Increases During The COVID-19 Pandemic By Socioeconomic Status, Race, And Ethnicity with Sarah Miller and Laura Wherry, Health Affairs, 2021

Social Interventions, Health and Wellbeing: The Long-Term and Intergenerational Effects of a School Construction Program with Maria Rosales-Rueda and Margaret Triyana. Journal of Human Resources, 2021.  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2019-09.

The Effects of the 1930s HOLC “Redlining” Maps with Daniel Aaronson and Daniel Hartley, AEJ: Policy, 2021.  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2017-12 .  Featured in New York Times, August 24, 2017: "How Redlining's Racist Effects Lasted for Decades", by Emily Badger; Chicago Magazine August 2017: "How Redlining Segregated Chicago, and America", by Whet Moser, "Blacks Still Face a Red Line on Housing", New York Times Editorial Board, April 16,  2018.  

The Long-run Effects of the 1930s HOLC “Redlining” Maps on Place-based Measures of Economic Opportunity and Socioeconomic Success  with Dan Aaronson, Jacob Faber, Dan Hartley and Patrick Sharkey. Regional Studies and Urban Economics, 2021

Estimating the Effect of School Quality on Mortality in the Presence of Migration: Evidence from the Jim Crow South with Daniel Aaronson, Seth Sanders and Evan Taylor,  Journal of Labor Economics, 2021, SSRN working paper. 

Intergenerational Mobility in Self Reported Health Status in the US with Tim Halliday and Ashley Wong.  Journal of Public Economics, 2021. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2018-02.  IZA Discussion paper.  Featured in HCEO Research Spotlight, April, 2018.  ICPSR Data Repository

Intergenerational Mobility Across Australia and the Stability of Regional Estimates with Nathan Deutscher.  Labour Economics, 2020 Working Paper version

The ACA Medicaid Expansion in Michigan and Financial Health with Luojia Hu, Robert Kaestner, Sarah Miller (lead author) and Ashley Wong. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2020.  NBER working paper no. 25053. 

The Intergenerational Transmission of Health in the United States: A Latent Variables Analysis with Tim Halliday and Ashley Wong. Health Economics 2020, 29(3): 367-381.  Working Paper version

Intergenerational Human Capital Spillovers: Indonesia's School Construction and Its Effects on the Next Generation with Maria Rosales-Rueda and Margaret Triyana.  AEA Papers and Proceedingsom the PSID.    The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2018 680:1  213-234.  SSRN Working Paper

The Effect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansions on Financial Well-Being with Luojia Hu, Robert Kaestner, Sarah Miller and Ashley Wong, Journal of Public Economics 163:99-112. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2016-10, NBER working paper w22170.  Featured in New York Times, April 20, 2016: "Obamacare Seems to Be Reducing People’s Medical Debt” by Margo Sanger-Katz ; Washington Post (wonkblog)  , April 20, 2016: “The big way Obamacare helps the poor isn’t really about their health” by Max Ehrenfreund

A Bayesian Analysis of Sibling Correlations in Health with Timothy J. Halliday. Health Economics, 2017, 26: 108– 125,  IZA Discussion Paper No. 8672    

A Comparison of Intergenerational Mobility Curves in Germany, Norway, Sweden and the U.S with Espen Bratberg, Jonathan Davis, Martin Nybom, Daniel Schnitzlein, and Kjell Vaage.  Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 2017, 119(1): 72-101, working paper version

The Effects of the Massachusetts Health Reform on Household Financial Distress with Sarah Miller. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2016, 8(3): 284–313 ,     Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2014-1

Estimating the Intergenerational Elasticity and Rank Association in the U.S.: Overcoming the Current Limitations of Tax Data Research in Labor Economics, 2016 43: 83 - 129, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2015-04 

How Did the Great Recession Affect Payday Loans? with Sumit Agarwal and Tal Gross, Economic Perspectives 2016 40 (2)

Breakfast Skipping, Extreme Commutes and the Sex Composition at Birth with Zach Seeskin  Biodemography and Social Biology, 2015  61:187-208, 

Using Occupation to Measure Intergenerational Mobility with Miguel Acosta The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2015, 657: 174-193 LSE Blog Post

Fertility Transitions Along the Extensive and Intensive Margins with Daniel Aaronson and Fabian Lange  American Economic Review, 2014 104(11): 3701-24 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2011-9

In Utero Ramadan Exposure and Children's Academic Performance with Douglas Almond and Reyn Van Ewijk  Economic Journal, 2015, 125: 1501–1533   SSRN Working Paper NBER working paper 

A Comparison of Upward and Downward Intergenerational Mobility in Canada, Sweden and the United States  with Miles Corak and Matthew J. Lindquist   Labour Economics, 2014, 30: 185-200

Black-White Differences in Intergenerational Mobility in the United States  Economic Perspectives, 2014  38(1)  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2011-10

Cognitive Abilities and Household Financial Decision Making with Sumit Agarwal  American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2013, 5(1) 193-207   Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2010-16

Fetal Origins and Parental Responses with Douglas Almond  Annual Review of Economics, 2013 5: 37-56  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2012-14

The Impact of Rosenwald Schools on Black Achievement with Daniel Aaronson  Journal of Political Economy, 2011, 119(5): 821-888 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2009-26

Intergenerational Mobility: A Crossnational Comparison.  Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences

Health Capital and the Prenatal Environment: The Effects of Ramadan Observance During Pregnancy with Douglas Almond.  American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 3(October 2011): 56-85  Featured in Superfreakonomics, Der Speigel, The Independent. A VOXEU interview with Doug Almond.  Working paper versions of the previously titled paper: "Health Capital and the Prenatal Environment: The Effects of Maternal Fasting during Pregnancy") Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2007-22 | NBER Working Paper 14428 

A Nonparametric Analysis of Black-White Differences in Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States  with Debopam Bhattacharya. Quantitative Economics (2011) 335-379   Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2007-12.  This paper was previously circulated with the title:  "A Nonparametric Analysis of Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States"

The Effects of Education on Health and Mortality  Nordic Economic Policy Review vol. 2012, pp. 261-301   SSRN Working Paper

Parental Income and Children’s Well-being and Future Success: An Analysis of the SIPP matched to SSA Earnings Data  with Jonathan Davis  Economic Inquiry 51(3) 1795-1808  US Census Bureau Center for Economic Studies Paper No. CES-WP- 11-12 

Family and Community Influences On Health and Socioeconomic Status: Sibling Correlations Over the Life Course  BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy: : Vol. 11 : Iss. 3 (Contributions), Article 1.  DOI: 10.2202/1935-1682.2876

What Is Behind the Rise in Long-Term Unemployment?  with Daniel Aaronson and Shani Schechter   Economic Perspectives, 34(2), 2010

Lingering Prenatal Effects of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic on Cardiovascular Aging  with Douglas Almond, Kyung Park, Eileen Crimmins and Caleb E. Finch.   Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 2009, p1-9, doi:10.1017/S2040174409990031  Selected Media Citations:  Time, Washington Post, New Scientist, ABC News, Salt Lake Tribune

Upward Intergenerational Economic Mobility in the U.S.   Report prepared for Pew Initiative on Economic Mobility | press release

Does Education Improve Health: A Reexamination of the Evidence from Compulsory Schooling Laws Errata and revised version of Table 3     Economic Perspectives, 33(2), 2008.

Intergenerational Economic Mobility in the US: 1940 to 2000 with Daniel Aaronson.  Journal of Human Resources, January, 2008, 43(1): 139-172   Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper2005-12   Selected Media Citation: Nation

Sibling Similarities and Economic Inequality in the U.S.  Journal of Population Economics. 2008, 21(3): 685-701.  Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2004-13 

The Growing Importance of Family: Evidence from Brothers’ Earnings  with David Levine  Industrial Relations, January 2007, 46(1) p7-21.   Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2003-24    Featured in New York Times Op. Ed by David Brooks, "The Sticky Ladder", January 25, 2005, Business Week,  New York Times, "Shadowy Lines that Still Divide". 

Trends in Intergenerational Mobility  Industrial Relations, January 2007, 46(1) p1-6.

Labor Market Dynamics Over the Business Cycle: New Evidence from the SIPP   Economic Perspectives, 31(1), 2007.

The Long-Term Health Effects of Fetal Exposure to the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: An Analysis of SIPP Data  with Douglas Almond  American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, May 2005, 95(2) p258-262

Fortunate Sons: New Estimates of Intergenerational Mobility in the U.S. Using Social Security Earnings Data   Review of Economics and Statistics, May 2005, 87(2) p235-255.   Previously titled working paper version: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper 2001-18: "Earnings Mobility in the US, A New Look at Intergenerational Inequality"   Selected Media Citations: Chicago Reader, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Nation, Rolling Stone  

Family Resources and College Enrollment   Economic Perspectives, 27(4), 2003

Book Chapters:

"What Do We Know About the Intergenerational Transmission of Health" in  Research Handbook on Intergenerational Mobility, Elina Kilpi-Jakonen, Jo Blanden,  Jani Erola and Lindsey Macmillan eds.  Edward Elgar, forthcoming.

“Race and Intergenerational Mobility in the United States” in "Intergenerational Mobility:  How Gender Race and Family Structure Affect Adult Outcomes." Jean Kimmel, editor,  Werner Sichel Lecture Series., WE Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2021

What Should Be Done to Increase Intergenerational Mobility in the US? in The US Labor Market Questions and Challenges for Public Policy, Michael R. Strain ed. 2016

The Changing Pattern of Wage Growth for Low Skilled Workers  with Christopher Taber and Eric French.   in Working and Poor: How Economic Challenges and Policy Changes Have Affected Low-Wage Workers, Blank, R., Danziger S. and Schoeni R. eds, Russell Sage Foundation, New York. 2006.   Working Paper version

The Apple Falls Even Farther From the Tree Than We Thought: New and Revised Estimates of the Intergenerational Inheritance of Earnings  in Intergenerational Inequality, Bowles, S., Gintis, H. and Osborne-Groves M. eds., Russell Sage Foundation, Princeton, 2005. 

Older Working Papers:

An Analysis of Sample Selection and the Reliability of Using Short-term Earnings Averages in SIPP-SSA Matched Data  with Jonathan Davis LINK 

Revised Estimates of Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States LINK

Choosing the Right Parents: Changes in the Intergenerational Transmission of Inequality between 1980 and the Early 1990s with David Levine LINK

The Mismeasurement of Permanent Earnings: New Evidence from Social Security Earnings Data LINK

Shorter Articles:

“The Broadening Impact of Rising Wildfire Smoke in the United States” with Mark Borgschulte and Cameron Deal, Chicago Fed Letter, No. 500, 2024

What Can Geolocation Data Tell Us About Childcare Use and Accessibility? with Daniel Hartley, Tori Healey, and Jung Sakong, Chicago Fed Insights, July 2024.

“Neighborhoods with Public Housing: Tracking Their Residents’ Financial Health and Visiting Patterns” with Dawn Chinagorom-Abiakalam, Cameron Deal, Elainia Gupta, Daniel Hartley and Ryan Perry, Chicago Fed Letter, No. 488, 2023

Intergenerational Economic Mobility in the US,  Economic Mobility Project Policy Brief, April 2022.

New Data on Thousands of U.S. Neighborhoods Shows Direct Impact of Redlining from 1930 to Today, with Dan Aaronson and Dan Hartley, Economic Mobility Policy Brief, February 2022.

How Does Social Distancing Affect the Spread of Covid-19 in the United States? with Avinash Moorthy Chicago Fed Letter, No. 442, 2020 

How Similar Are Credit Scores Across Generations? with Daniel Hartley and Aastha Rajan.  Chicago Fed Letter No. 424, 2019

How Health Insurance Improves Financial Health with Sarah Miller, Luojia Hu, Robert Kaestner, Ashley Wong, Lisa Camner McKay.  Chicago Fed Letter No. 420, 2019

Have Borrowers Recovered from Foreclosures during the Great Recession? with Sharada Dharmasankar,  Chicago Fed Letter No. 370, 2016

Inequality in Skills and the Great Gatsby Curve Chicago Fed Letter, No. 330,  January, 2015

Is There a Skills Mismatch in the Labor Market? with Jason Faberman, Chicago Fed Letter, July 2012

Is Intergenerational Economic Mobility Lower Now Than in the Past? Chicago Fed Letter, April 2012

How Did Unemployment Insurance Extensions Affect the Unemployment Rate in 2008–10? Chicago Fed Letter, April 2011

New Perspectives on Health and Health Care Policy with Darren Lubotsky and Zach Seeskin, Chicago Fed Letter, July 2010

Does the Housing Slump Account for the Slowdown in Productivity Growth  with Ana Rocca and Daniel Sullivan, Chicago Fed Letter, January 2008

What Similarities Between Siblings Tell Us About Inequality in the US  Chicago Fed Letter, December 2004

Analyzing Income Mobility Over Generations  Chicago Fed Letter, September 2002

Last Updated January 2025