Data and Code for: Medical Technology and Life Expectancy: Evidence from the Antitoxin Treatment of Diphtheria

We examine the impact of the free supply of diphtheria antitoxin, the first effective medical treatment for an infectious disease, on the historical health transition in Massachusetts. Using newly collected municipality-level data on the distribution of antitoxin and information from over 1.5 million death certificates from 1880 to 1914, we find that the rapid availability of antitoxin treatment significantly increased life expectancy at young ages. Our findings suggest that medicine, combined with an effective public health policy, played a more important role in improving life expectancy in the early 20th century than previously thought.

本研究探讨了白喉抗毒素（diphtheria antitoxin）——首款针对传染病的有效治疗手段——的免费供给对马萨诸塞州（Massachusetts）历史健康转型的影响。本研究依托新搜集的市镇层面抗毒素分布数据，以及1880年至1914年间逾150万份死亡证明（death certificates）中的相关信息，发现抗毒素治疗的快速可及性显著提升了幼年人群的预期寿命。研究结果表明，在20世纪早期，医学与有效的公共卫生政策相结合，在改善预期寿命方面所发挥的作用，比此前学界的认知更为重要。