Recent work has shown that, conditional on survival, there are contradictory effects of adverse experiences and environments. This thesis attempts to examine whether and how various adversities may influence development outcomes and produce unequal impacts. It comprises four independent studies using evidence from China. The first study finds that an increase in the intensity of famine in childhood leads to a decline in the probability of being in energy poverty in adulthood. It also finds that personal income is a channel through which childhood adversity affects energy poverty later in life. In the second study, the findings show that individuals exposed to higher levels of air pollution are less likely to become entrepreneurs (or to diversify their entrepreneurial activities). The study finds that risk propensity, networking consumption, self-efficacy and the city’s educated migration are the main channels through which air pollution impacts entrepreneurship. In addition, it finds that air pollution has a more significant negative impact on individuals with lower education levels than their counterparts. The third study finds that an increase in PM2.5 concentration decreases the probability of parental investment in their children’s education. Factors such as educational expectations, financial considerations and personal well-being appear to mediate this impact. Additionally, the results suggest that the level of education and living area may moderate the relationship between air pollution and educational investment. The final study highlights that the negative impact of air pollution on female health is significant, particularly for females in the middle of the health distribution. Notably, implementing environmental policies improves females’ health and is critical to bridge the health gap between genders. Overall, depending on the nature of adversity, the thesis finds that adverse experiences can reduce energy poverty, entrepreneurship, education investment and physical health. These findings contribute to the understanding of resilience by demonstrating how it alters the impact of adversity and expanding the literature on the trade-offs between the positive and negative effects of adversity.