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

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  • Wang, Chenggang

    (University of Hawaii at Manoa)

  • Wang, Huixia

    (Hunan University)

  • Halliday, Timothy J.

    (University of Hawaii at Manoa)

Abstract

We estimate the impact of the Great Recession of 2007–2009 on health outcomes in the United States. We show that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate resulted in a 7.8–8.8 percent increase in reports of poor health. Mental health was also adversely impacted and reports of chronic drinking increased. These effects were concentrated among those with strong labor force attachments. Whites, the less educated, and women were the most impacted demographic groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Chenggang & Wang, Huixia & Halliday, Timothy J., 2017. "Health and Health Inequality during the Great Recession: Evidence from the PSID," IZA Discussion Papers 10808, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10808
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    3. Elena Puerto-Casasasnovas & Jorge Galiana-Richart & María Paola Mastrantonio-Ramos & Francisco López-Muñoz & Alfredo Rocafort-Nicolau, 2023. "Direct and Indirect Management Models in Public Health in the Framework of Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-11, January.
    4. Bencsik, Panka & Halliday, Timothy J. & Mazumder, Bhashkar, 2023. "The intergenerational transmission of mental and physical health in the United Kingdom," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Mario Martínez-Jiménez & Judit Vall Castelló, 2020. "Effects of macroeconomic fluctuations on mental health and psychotropic medicine consumption," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 277-297, September.
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    7. 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.
    8. Zhao, Yuejun, 2023. "Job displacement and the mental health of households: Burden sharing counteracts spillover," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
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    11. Timothy M. Smeeding, 2018. "The PSID in Research and Policy," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 680(1), pages 29-47, November.
    12. Kronenberg, Christoph & Boehnke, Jan R., 2019. "How did the 2008-11 financial crisis affect work-related common mental distress? Evidence from 393 workplaces in Great Britain," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 193-200.
    13. Giri, Jeeten Krishna & Kumaresan, Talitha, 2021. "The business cycle, health behavior, and chronic disease: A study over Three decades," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    health outcomes; health behaviors; Great Recession; inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I0 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

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