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Money and Credit: Health and Health Inequality during the Great Recession: Evidence from the PSID

Author

Listed:
  • Huixia Wang

    (Hunan University, School of Economy and Trade)

  • Chenggang Wang

    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics)

  • Timothy Halliday

    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization)

Abstract

We employ granular information on local macro-economic conditions from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to estimate the impact of the Great Recession on health and health-related behaviors. Among working-aged adults, a one percentage point increase in the county-level unemployment rate resulted in a 2.4-3.2 percent increase in chronic drinking, a 1.8-1.9 percent decrease in mental health status, and a 7.8-8.9 percent increase in reports of poor health. Notably, there was heterogeneity in the impact of the recession across socioeconomic groups. Particularly, obesity and overweight rates increased for blacks and high school educated people, while there is weak evidence that they decreased for whites and the college educated. Along some dimensions, the Great Recession may have widened some socioeconomic health disparities in the United States.

Suggested Citation

  • Huixia Wang & Chenggang Wang & Timothy Halliday, 2016. "Money and Credit: Health and Health Inequality during the Great Recession: Evidence from the PSID," Working Papers 201615, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hai:wpaper:201615
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    File URL: http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/workingpapers/WP_16-15.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yana Vierboom, 2017. "The contribution of differences in adiposity to educational disparities in mortality in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(54), pages 1735-1760.

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    Keywords

    Great Recession; Health Behaviors; Health Outcomes; Obesity; Inequality;
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