Long-Term Consequences of Early Life Exposure to War: An Examination of Life Outcomes of Children Born or Conceived during the Vietnam War

Nobuko Mizoguchi, University of Colorado at Boulder

This paper explores the long-term effects of early-life exposure to war on children born or conceived in times of war. While war is known to have harmful consequences, such as raised mortality, displaced populations, and destruction of infrastructure in the short-term, the medium to long-term effects of exposure to war are less clear. Examining the case of the Vietnam War, this paper investigates the war’s effects on socioeconomic outcomes using census data. The results show some indication of adverse effects on upper and lower secondary school completion, literacy, marriage, and employment, but it is unclear whether these effects can be attributed solely to exposure to the war.