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This paper examines the economic impact of a tuberculosis control program launched in Norway in 1948. In the 1940s, Norway had one of the highest tuberculosis infection rates in Europe, affecting about 85 percent of the inhabitants. To lower the disease burden, the Norwegian government launched a large-scale tuberculosis testing and vaccination campaign that substantially reduced tuberculosis infection rates among children. We find that cohorts in school during and after the campaign in municipalities with high tuberculosis prevalence gained more in terms of education, earnings, longevity, and height following this public health intervention. Furthermore, the gains from the disease control program are not limited to the initially treated cohorts but also affect their children. The results also suggest that individuals from a low socioeconomic background benefited more from the intervention and we present new evidence that a narrowing of the gap in childhood health can lead to a reduction in socioeconomic inequalities in adulthood.

Trade and technology‐related explanations for the change in plant‐level skill composition in Norway are examined by exploiting matched employer–employee data. The results show that the changes are taking place mainly through a reallocation of labour resources between plants within sectors, leading to greater dispersion of skills across establishments. Results from estimating plant‐level dynamic demand functions support skill‐biased technological change via a positive gross job creation effect. A strong impact from trade is also found along the gross job destruction margin for low‐ and medium‐educated workers in sectors exposed to increased competition from abroad. Highly educated workers are insulated from negative trade effects.