IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jeborg/v212y2023icp422-437.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Health and wellbeing spillovers of a partner's cancer diagnosis

Author

Listed:
  • Angelini, Viola
  • Costa-Font, Joan

Abstract

Major health shocks can have far-reaching implications for the welfare of an individual's support and emotional network. This paper investigates both long-term and short-term spillover effects of a major non-communicable health shock, namely a cancer diagnosis (CD), on the health and well-being of an individual's partner. We rely on data from a longitudinal sample of individuals over fifty from 19 European countries. Our estimates provide economically relevant evidence of the spillovers of a CD on the partner's mental health and well-being. We document a robust and time persisting negative relationship between a partner's CD and several measures of well-being, which is not driven by changes in health behaviors. These findings suggest that focusing solely on the individual economic impact of a CD will likely underestimate its long-term welfare effects unless the external effects on the emotional support network are considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Angelini, Viola & Costa-Font, Joan, 2023. "Health and wellbeing spillovers of a partner's cancer diagnosis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 422-437.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:212:y:2023:i:c:p:422-437
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2023.06.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016726812300207X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jebo.2023.06.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adelina Sharipova & Stijn Baert, 2019. "Labour Market Outcomes for Cancer Survivors: A Review of the Reviews," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 19/985, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    2. Joseph G. Altonji & Todd E. Elder & Christopher R. Taber, 2005. "Selection on Observed and Unobserved Variables: Assessing the Effectiveness of Catholic Schools," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 151-184, February.
    3. Dan Zeltzer & Liran Einav & Amy Finkelstein & Tzvi Shir & Salomon M. Stemmer & Ran D. Balicer, 2023. "Why Is End-of-Life Spending So High? Evidence from Cancer Patients," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(3), pages 511-527, May.
    4. Costa-Font, Joan & Vilaplana-Prieto, Cristina, 2022. "Mental health effects of caregivers respite: Subsidies or Supports?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    5. Itzik Fadlon & Torben Heien Nielsen, 2019. "Family Health Behaviors," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(9), pages 3162-3191, September.
    6. Clark, Andrew E. & Etile, Fabrice, 2006. "Don't give up on me baby: Spousal correlation in smoking behaviour," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 958-978, September.
    7. Davillas, Apostolos & Pudney, Stephen, 2017. "Concordance of health states in couples: Analysis of self-reported, nurse administered and blood-based biomarker data in the UK Understanding Society panel," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 87-102.
    8. Emily Oster, 2019. "Unobservable Selection and Coefficient Stability: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 187-204, April.
    9. Palali, Ali & van Ours, Jan, 2015. "Love Conquers All but Nicotine : Spousal Peer Effects on the Decision to Quit Smoking," Discussion Paper 2015-048, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    10. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    11. Jason Fletcher & Ryne Marksteiner, 2017. "Causal Spousal Health Spillover Effects and Implications for Program Evaluation," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 144-166, November.
    12. Ali Palali & Jan C. Van ours, 2017. "Love Conquers all but Nicotine: Spousal Peer Effects on the Decision to Quit Smoking," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(12), pages 1710-1727, December.
    13. Khwaja, Ahmed & Sloan, Frank & Chung, Sukyung, 2006. "Learning about individual risk and the decision to smoke," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 683-699, July.
    14. Michael Darden & Donna Gilleskie, 2016. "The Effects of Parental Health Shocks on Adult Offspring Smoking Behavior and Self‐Assessed Health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(8), pages 939-954, August.
    15. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    16. V. Kerry Smith & Donald H. Taylor & Frank A. Sloan & F. Reed Johnson & William H. Desvousges, 2001. "Do Smokers Respond To Health Shocks?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(4), pages 675-687, November.
    17. Jeffrey R. Brown & Courtney C. Coile & Scott J. Weisbenner, 2010. "The Effect of Inheritance Receipt on Retirement," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(2), pages 425-434, May.
    18. Jacobson, Lena, 2000. "The family as producer of health -- an extended grossman model," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 611-637, September.
    19. Jeon, Sung-Hee & Pohl, R. Vincent, 2019. "Medical innovation, education, and labor market outcomes of cancer patients," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    20. Agüero, Jorge M. & Beleche, Trinidad, 2017. "Health shocks and their long-lasting impact on health behaviors: Evidence from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in Mexico," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 40-55.
    21. Philipson, Tomas & Posner, Richard A, 1994. "Public Spending on AIDS Education: An Economic Analysis," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(1), pages 17-38, April.
    22. Michael Grossman, 1972. "The Demand for Health: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gros72-1.
    23. Wilson, Sven E., 2002. "The health capital of families: an investigation of the inter-spousal correlation in health status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(7), pages 1157-1172, October.
    24. Bobinac, Ana & van Exel, N. Job A. & Rutten, Frans F.H. & Brouwer, Werner B.F., 2010. "Caring for and caring about: Disentangling the caregiver effect and the family effect," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 549-556, July.
    25. Lin, Wanchuan & Sloan, Frank, 2015. "Risk perceptions and smoking decisions of adult Chinese men," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 60-73.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Davillas, Apostolos & Pudney, Stephen, 2017. "Concordance of health states in couples: Analysis of self-reported, nurse administered and blood-based biomarker data in the UK Understanding Society panel," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 87-102.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Garbinti, Bertrand & García-Peñalosa, Cecilia & Pecheu, Vladimir & Savignac, Frederique, 2023. "Trends and Inequality in Lifetime Earnings in France," CEPR Discussion Papers 18472, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Garbinti, Bertrand & García-Peñalosa, Cecilia & Pecheu, Vladimir & Savignac, Frederique, 2023. "Trends and Inequality in Lifetime Earnings in France," CEPR Discussion Papers 18472, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Yazbeck M & Xu H & Azocar F & Ettner SL, 2020. "Spousal Peer Effects in Specialty Behavioral Health Services Use: Do Spillovers Vary by Gender, Subscriber Status and Sexual Orientation?," Discussion Papers Series 630, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    4. Qing Wang & John A. Rizzo & Hai Fang, 2018. "Changes in Smoking Behaviors following Exposure to Health Shocks in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Li, Chunxiao & Gilleskie, Donna B., 2021. "The influence of endogenous behaviors among social pairs: Social interaction effects of smoking," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    6. Francetic, Igor & Meacock, Rachel & Sutton, Matt, 2022. "Understanding Concordance in Health Behaviours among Couples: Evidence from the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in England," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 310-345.
    7. Upasak Das & Rupayan Pal & Udayan Rathore & Bibhas Saha, 2023. "Rein in pandemic by pricing vaccine: Does social trust matter?," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2023-008, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    8. Alloush, Mo & Bloem, Jeffrey R., 2022. "Neighborhood violence, poverty, and psychological well-being," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    9. Liu, Jing & Lee, Monica & Gershenson, Seth, 2021. "The short- and long-run impacts of secondary school absences," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    10. Manuel Denzer, 2019. "Estimating Causal Effects in Binary Response Models with Binary Endogenous Explanatory Variables - A Comparison of Possible Estimators," Working Papers 1916, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
    11. Saraswat, Deepak, 2024. "Gender composition of children and sanitation behavior in India," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    12. Hung‐Hao Chang & Chad D. Meyerhoefer, 2021. "COVID‐19 and the Demand for Online Food Shopping Services: Empirical Evidence from Taiwan," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(2), pages 448-465, March.
    13. Bishop, Kelly C. & Kuminoff, Nicolai V. & Mathes, Sophie M. & Murphy, Alvin D., 2024. "The marginal cost of mortality risk reduction: Evidence from housing markets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    14. Leena Bhattacharya, 2019. "Short-Term Migration and Children’s School Attendance: Evidence from Rural India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 62(4), pages 659-691, December.
    15. Alexander S. Skorobogatov, 2021. "The effect of alcohol sales restrictions on alcohol poisoning mortality: Evidence from Russia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1417-1442, June.
    16. Dustmann, Christian & Ku, Hyejin & Kwak, Do Won, 2018. "Why Are Single-Sex Schools Successful?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 79-99.
    17. Amorim, Guilherme & Lima, Rafael Costa & Sampaio, Breno, 2022. "Broadband internet and protests: Evidence from the Occupy movement," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    18. W. Kip Viscusi, 2016. "Risk Beliefs and Preferences for E-cigarettes," American Journal of Health Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(2), pages 213-240, Spring.
    19. Olivier Sterck, 2020. "Fighting for Votes: Theory and Evidence on the Causes of Electoral Violence," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 87(347), pages 844-883, July.
    20. James Banks & Iris Kesternich & James P. Smith, 2021. "International differences in interspousal health correlations," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 1152-1177, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cancer; Family spillovers; Health behaviors; Household well-being; Employment; Loneliness; Welfare effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:212:y:2023:i:c:p:422-437. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jebo .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.