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Income Effects on Health: Evidence from Union Army Pensions

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  • Eli, Shari

Abstract

To what extent do rising income levels explain the decline in adult mortality rates experienced in the United States a century ago? I explore this question by investigating the income effect of the country's first wide-scale entitlement program: the Union Army pensions. Documenting that Republican Congressional candidates boosted pensions to secure votes, I exploit exogenous increases in income stemming from patronage politics to estimate the semi-elasticity of disease onset with respect to pensions. Income effects are large for cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and respiratory illnesses.

Suggested Citation

  • Eli, Shari, 2015. "Income Effects on Health: Evidence from Union Army Pensions," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 75(2), pages 448-478, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:75:y:2015:i:02:p:448-478_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Gallardo‐Albarrán, 2020. "Sanitary infrastructures and the decline of mortality in Germany, 1877–1913," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 73(3), pages 730-757, August.
    2. Dora L. Costa, 2015. "Health and the Economy in the United States from 1750 to the Present," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(3), pages 503-570, September.
    3. Eli, Shari & Salisbury, Laura, 2016. "Patronage Politics and the Development of the Welfare State: Confederate Pensions in the American South," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 76(4), pages 1078-1112, December.
    4. Shari Eli & Laura Salisbury & Allison Shertzer, 2016. "Migration Responses to Conflict: Evidence from the Border of the American Civil War," NBER Working Papers 22591, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Dora L. Costa & Heather DeSomer & Eric Hanss & Christopher Roudiez & Sven E. Wilson & Noelle Yetter, 2017. "Union Army veterans, all grown up," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 79-95, April.
    6. Jäger, Philipp, 2023. "Can pensions save lives? Evidence from the introduction of old-age assistance in the UK," Ruhr Economic Papers 995, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    7. Vellore Arthi & James Fenske, 2018. "Polygamy and child mortality: Historical and modern evidence from Nigeria’s Igbo," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 97-141, March.
    8. Tang, John P., 2017. "The Engine And The Reaper: Industrialization And Mortality In Late Nineteenth Century Japan," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 145-162.
    9. Rivero Catalina & Acuna Pedro, 2021. "Income Shocks and Child Mortality Rates: Evidence from Fluctuations in Oil Prices," Economics, Sciendo, vol. 9(1), pages 69-83, June.
    10. Tang, John P., 2015. "The Engine And The Reaper: Industrialization And Mortality In Early Modern Japan," RCESR Discussion Paper Series DP15-10, Research Center for Economic and Social Risks, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.

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