Research
Childhood roots of the aging brain
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Dementia and poor mental health are growing concerns in aging low and middle income countries, but their long-run determinants remain poorly understood. Exploiting the quasi-random assignment of early-life weather shocks from the prenatal period to age 15 among rural elderly Chinese, I test whether early-life conditions causally shape the levels and trajectories of cognitive function and mental health in old age, and identify critical developmental windows using cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches. Results show that weather shocks experienced from birth to 5 years old reduce memory and numeracy score levels in old age, and accelerate the deterioration of depressive symptoms over time. Offsetting factors such as schooling and migration, from 5 to 15 years old, are likely mitigating the direct detrimental effect of weather shocks on cognitive levels and trajectories, suggesting that late childhood may be as critical as earlier developmental periods in shaping long term outcomes.
The effect of high temperature on seniors cognition: evidence from European countries (with Eric Bonsang and Clémentine Garrouste)
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This study aims at investigating the effect of high temperatures on cognitive functions of individuals aged 50 and over. The empirical analysis exploits longitudinal data from the SHARE Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe which is combined with measures of daily temperature collected by ground weather stations. Our estimates are based on an individual fixed-effect strategy and show that high temperatures impede the cognitive functions. Our results reveal a stronger effect for poorer individuals, those aged over 65 years as well as those who are overweight. The poorest elderly are the more vulnerable to global warming, which impacts their working memory and fluency. This may affect their capacity to make complex decisions and, in turn, negatively affect their standard of living. Thus, our results suggest that global warming could amplify socio-economic inequalities.
Fertilizers, water quality and perinatal health in India (with Claire Lepault and Raphaël Soubeyran)
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India's substantial fertilizer consumption, a legacy of the Green Revolution, raises debates regarding its trade-offs between agricultural productivity and environmental and health concerns. Consumption of nitrate and nitrite has been linked to health issues like methemoglobinemia, a potentially fatal condition for infants. We utilize new data on agricultural practices, water pollution, and health outcomes to explore the relationship between fertilizer runoff, nitrogen concentration in water, and child mortality.
Other work in progress
Gas Flaring and Child Health in Africa (with Mélodie Gultekin and Yohan Renard)
A Behavioral Model of Cooling Technology Adoption (with Louis-Gaëtan Giraudet, Sébastien Houde, and Fabrice Ochou)