Replication data for: Modern Medicine and the Twentieth Century Decline in Mortality: Evidence on the Impact of Sulfa Drugs

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Seema Jayachandran; Adriana Lleras-Muney; Kimberly V. Smith

Version: View help for Version V1

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Project Citation:

Jayachandran, Seema, Lleras-Muney, Adriana, and Smith, Kimberly V. Replication data for: Modern Medicine and the Twentieth Century Decline in Mortality: Evidence on the Impact of Sulfa Drugs. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2010. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E113743V1

Project Description

Summary: This paper studies the contribution of sulfa drugs, a groundbreaking medical innovation in the 1930s, to declines in US mortality. For several infectious diseases, sulfa drugs represented the first effective treatment. Using time-series and difference-in-differences methods, we find that sulfa drugs led to a 24 to 36 percent decline in maternal mortality, 17 to 32 percent decline in pneumonia mortality, and 52 to 65 percent decline in scarlet fever mortality between 1937 and 1943. Altogether, sulfa drugs reduced mortality by 2 to 3 percent and increased life expectancy by 0.4 to 0.7 years. We also find that sulfa drugs benefited whites more than blacks. (JEL I12, L65, N32, N72)

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      I12 Health Behavior
      L65 Chemicals; Rubber; Drugs; Biotechnology; Plastics
      N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
      N72 Economic History: Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services: U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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