Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Paper Series,
Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

No 8/2010: How Large are the Effects from Temporary Changes in Family Environment: Evidence from a Child-evacuation Program during WWII

Torsten Santavirta
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Torsten Santavirta: Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, Postal: SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract: During WWII some 70,000 Finnish children were evacuated to Sweden and placed in foster families. The evacuation scheme limited sharply the scope for selection into foster care based on background characteristics. A first-come first-served policy was applied where the children were assigned a running number and processed anonymously. Using register and survey data I examine the extent to which the foster environment affected later life outcomes of the Finnish child evacuees. The results show that nurture - the socioeconomic environment at early stages of life - has an important effect on schooling, labor attachment and risky behavior.

Keywords: child evacuation; nurture effect; intergenerational transmission

JEL-codes: F22; J24; J62

65 pages, August 29, 2010

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