Several strands of research document the life-cycle impacts of lead exposure during
the critical period of children’s development. Yet little is known about long-run
effects of lead exposure during early-life on old-age mortality outcomes. This study
exploits the staggered installation of water systems across 592 cities in the US over
the first decades of the 20th century combined with cross-city differences in
materials used in water pipelines to identify lead and non-lead cities. An eventstudy analysis suggests that the impacts are more concentrated on children exposed
during in-utero up to age 2. The results of difference-in-difference analysis suggests
an intent-to-treat effect of 2.2 months reduction in old-age longevity for fully
exposed cohorts. A heterogeneity analysis reveals effects that are 2.4 times larger
among nonwhite subpopulation. We also find reductions in education and
socioeconomic standing during early adulthood as candidate mechanism. Finally,
we employ WWII enlistment data and observe reductions in height-for-age among
lead-exposed cohorts.