Paper long abstract:

We investigate the gender differentiated effects of early-life exposure to earthquakes in Indonesia, one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. We do so by constructing a hybrid micro dataset with information on early life exposure to earthquakes by combining the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) with two datasets on natural disasters: United States Geological Survey (USGS) data and Indonesian Government’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB/Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana).  We exploit earthquake exposure in-utero and/or between 0–59 months of birth to examine short and long-term consequences using a double difference estimator. We find that, compared to girls, boys are more susceptible to earthquake exposure in the short term -- they suffer from a higher probability of being stunted and wasted. However, this disadvantage disappears in the long term, leaving girls with a poorer health status, relative to boys. The effects appear to be more salient in severely affected areas. The gender differences in birth weight and the mother’s breastfeeding period among the exposed groups partly explained the causal pathways for the short term while gender differences in household per capita and food expenditure (in favor of boys) helps explain the reversal of male disadvantage in the long run.