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Business cycle and mortality in Spain

Author

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  • María Cervini-Plá

    (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
    EQUALITAS)

  • Judit Vall-Castelló

    (Universitat de Barcelona
    CRES (UPF))

Abstract

In the last couple of decades, there has been a lot of interest on the impact of macroeconomic fluctuations on health and mortality rates. Many studies, for different countries, find that mortality is procyclical. However, studies examining the effects of more recent recessions are less conclusive, finding mortality to be less procyclical, or even countercyclical. In this paper, using data of Spanish provinces from 1999 to 2016, we investigate how this relationship works in the context of a country that is subject to extreme business cycle fluctuations. Furthermore, we analyze the impact of unemployment for different mortality causes and we explore differences by sex, age group and level of education. In general terms, we find mortality to be procyclical so that when the economy is in a recession, mortality falls. When exploring mortality causes, we show that deaths from cardiovascular disease, cancer, senility, transport accidents and homicides are procyclical. By sex, we find procyclicality for both men and women. By age, mortality is procyclical for all age groups; however, the causes of death that result in this procyclical behavior are specific to each age group. By educational level, suicide appears as a countercyclical cause for individuals with intermediate levels of education.

Suggested Citation

  • María Cervini-Plá & Judit Vall-Castelló, 2021. "Business cycle and mortality in Spain," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(8), pages 1289-1299, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujhec:v:22:y:2021:i:8:d:10.1007_s10198-021-01336-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10198-021-01336-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Giambattista Salinari & Federico Benassi & Gianni Carboni, 2023. "The Effect of the Great Recession on Italian Life Expectancy," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(1), pages 1-15, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mortality; Health; Recessions; Business cycle;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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