This study evaluates the economic consequences of the successful eradication of hookworm disease from the American South, which began around 1910. The Rockefeller Sanitary Commission (RSC) surveyed infection rates and found that 40% of school-aged children were infected. The RSC sponsored treatment and education campaigns, which led to a significant reduction in hookworm disease. The study uses the pre-treatment infection rates as an identification strategy, comparing areas with higher and lower infection rates. The results show that areas with higher pre-treatment infection rates experienced greater increases in school enrollment, attendance, and literacy after the intervention. These findings are robust to controlling for various alternative factors, including crop prices, educational and health policies, and malaria eradication. No significant contemporaneous results are found for adults, who had lower infection rates prior to the intervention. A long-term follow-up indicates that individuals exposed to hookworm eradication during childhood earned significantly higher incomes as adults. The study also finds evidence that eradication increased the return to schooling.This study evaluates the economic consequences of the successful eradication of hookworm disease from the American South, which began around 1910. The Rockefeller Sanitary Commission (RSC) surveyed infection rates and found that 40% of school-aged children were infected. The RSC sponsored treatment and education campaigns, which led to a significant reduction in hookworm disease. The study uses the pre-treatment infection rates as an identification strategy, comparing areas with higher and lower infection rates. The results show that areas with higher pre-treatment infection rates experienced greater increases in school enrollment, attendance, and literacy after the intervention. These findings are robust to controlling for various alternative factors, including crop prices, educational and health policies, and malaria eradication. No significant contemporaneous results are found for adults, who had lower infection rates prior to the intervention. A long-term follow-up indicates that individuals exposed to hookworm eradication during childhood earned significantly higher incomes as adults. The study also finds evidence that eradication increased the return to schooling.