This summer I worked with Professor Atwood and Ethan Ross to study the labor and productivity outcomes associated with receiving the measles vaccine during childhood. Our project was a continuation of Professor Atwood’s previous research, which focused on the United States. Her results showed increased earnings and employment associated with the measles vaccination, and this summer our goal was to replicate this research in other countries to see if the results are similar. Measles is a universal disease, meaning that geography doesn’t have an impact on how common it is, so our research could be done in any part of the world.  My focus was on England & Wales, while Ethan looked at Italy.  

Our time was divided between tracking down data and researching. The goal for data collection was to find data on measles incidence rates and population for a time period surrounding the rollout of the vaccine. For England & Wales, this time frame was 1950-1980. We were able to access digitized versions of this data for the 1950s and are currently in the process of obtaining physical copies from Cornell University for the remaining years.  Additionally, we wanted long-run data, including employment status and region of residency. In terms of research, Ethan and I looked at measles, its history, and the vaccine. For England & Wales, I researched the vaccine rollout, labor force participation (i.e. do we see differences between men and women), and internal migration.

While we were unable to get complete results in this short time frame, we were able to make substantial progress tracking down hard-to-find data and conducting research important to providing context to this project.  

Over the course of Summer 2021, I worked with Professor Atwood and Zoe Tolbert on a project dealing with the long-run economic impacts of the measles vaccine. In her paper published earlier this year, Professor Atwood conducted this research in the context of the  United States. She found that exposure to the measles vaccine was associated with a 1.1% increase in annual income, which can be attributed to the increased productivity that results from a healthier childhood. Our goal for the summer was to replicate this analysis in other countries. I researched the measles vaccine in Italy, while Zoe focused on England & Wales.

The summer began with research into the measles virus itself. Before the advent of the vaccine, measles was a universal disease, and nearly every child contracted measles before the age of sixteen. There is substantial evidence that infection by the measles virus has a prolonged suppressive effect on the immune system by causing an “immune memory loss” that lasts years and leaves children more vulnerable to other infections, which can potentially lead to severe, long-term complications. Vaccinated children therefore avoid not just measles, but the years-long weakened immune system resulting from it.

Measles Rates Over Time (Click to view in separate tab)

As the summer progressed, I shifted my focus towards Italy. The measles vaccine was licensed in Italy in 1976, but due to a cost disincentive, uptake of the vaccine was slow and regionally heterogeneous. This response was further compounded by the lack of a centrally coordinated national vaccination effort. In addition, a substantial portion of the Italian population is considered vaccine-hesitant, which can primarily be traced to a thoroughly disproven and since-retracted 1998 study drawing a causal link between Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccination and autism. Vaccine hesitancy is relatively widespread in Italy and has prevented the country from maintaining herd immunity from measles in recent years.

My experience this summer with the Ford Scholars program has been invaluable. With the help of Professor Atwood and the advice of several other professors, I have significantly developed my research skills and my understanding of data analysis. The research subject itself has been intellectually engaging, comprehensive, and thought-provoking — I learned much about epidemiology, biology, the social impacts of vaccines, and the relationship between vaccinations, health, and productivity. This research is especially meaningful to me in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which public confidence in the benefits of vaccines – not just with regard to health, but also economic well-being – has been more important than ever before.