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Health shocks and their long-lasting impact on health behaviors: Evidence from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in Mexico

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  • Agüero, Jorge M.
  • Beleche, Trinidad

Abstract

Worldwide, the leading causes of death could be avoided with health behaviors that are low-cost but also difficult to adopt. We show that exogenous health shocks could facilitate the adoption of these behaviors and provide long-lasting effects on health outcomes. Specifically, we exploit the spatial and temporal variation of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic in Mexico and show that areas with a higher incidence of H1N1 experienced larger reductions in diarrhea-related cases among young children. These reductions continue even three years after the shock ended. Health improvements and evidence of information seeking via Google searches were consistent with changes in hand washing behaviors. Several robustness checks validate our findings and mechanism.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:54:y:2017:i:c:p:40-55
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2017.03.008
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    RePEc Biblio mentions

    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Economics of Welfare > Health Economics > Economics of Pandemics > Consequences > Health and human capital
    2. > Economics of Welfare > Health Economics > Economics of Pandemics > Specific pandemics > Swine Influenza (H1N1)

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    Cited by:

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    3. Shibing You & Hengli Wang & Miao Zhang & Haitao Song & Xiaoting Xu & Yongzeng Lai, 2020. "Assessment of monthly economic losses in Wuhan under the lockdown against COVID-19," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Jorge M. Agüero, 2019. "Information and Behavioral Responses with More than One Agent: The Case of Domestic Violence Awareness Campaigns," Working papers 2019-04, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    5. Rangel, Marcos & Nobles, Jenna & Hamoudi, Amar, 2019. "Brazil's Missing Infants: Zika Risk Changes Reproductive Behavior," SocArXiv fu8bp, Center for Open Science.
    6. Sandra Aguilar-Gomez & Eva O. Arceo-Gomez & Elia De la Cruz Toledo & Pedro J. Torres López, 2021. "Leadership, public health messaging, and containment of mobility in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic," Documentos de Trabajo LACEA 018893, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA.
    7. Xianhang Qian, 2021. "The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on insurance demand: the case of China," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(7), pages 1017-1024, September.
    8. Mendolia, Silvia & Stavrunova, Olena & Yerokhin, Oleg, 2021. "Determinants of the community mobility during the COVID-19 epidemic: The role of government regulations and information," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 199-231.
    9. Jinhwan Park & Duk Bin Jun & Sungho Park, 2022. "The effect of epidemic outbreak on healthcare usage: Lessons from the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in South Korea," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(3), pages 1319-1343, July.
    10. Antoine Marsaudon & Lise Rochaix, 2010. "Impact of acute health shocks on cigarette consumption: A combined DiD-matching strategy to address endogeneity issues in the French Gazel panel data," Working Papers halshs-01626187, HAL.
    11. Yamamura, Eiji & Tsutsui, Yoshiro, 2022. "How does the impact of the COVID-19 state of emergency change? An analysis of preventive behaviors and mental health using panel data in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    12. Antoine Marsaudon & Lise Rochaix, 2017. "Impact of acute health shocks on cigarette consumption
      [Impact d'un choc de santé sur la consommation de cigarette]      ," PSE Working Papers halshs-01626024, HAL.
    13. Cho, Hyunkuk & Kwon, Jihyeon, 2021. "Pandemic and hospital avoidance: Evidence from the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in South Korea," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    14. Stephen C. Newbold & David Finnoff & Linda Thunström & Madison Ashworth & Jason F. Shogren, 2020. "Effects of Physical Distancing to Control COVID-19 on Public Health, the Economy, and the Environment," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 705-729, August.
    15. Wen, Sha & Zou, Hong & Xu, Hongwei, 2021. "What doesn't kill you makes you “smarter”: The long-term association between exposure to epidemic and cognition," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    16. Shooshan Danagoulian & Derek Jenkins, 2021. "Rolling back the gains: Maternal stress undermines pregnancy health after Flint's water switch," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(3), pages 564-584, March.
    17. Eiji Yamamura. & Yoshiro Tsutsui, 2020. "Impact of the State of Emergency Declaration for COVID-19 on Preventive Behaviors and Mental Conditions in Japan: Difference in Difference Analysis using Panel Data," Papers 2005.13008, arXiv.org.
    18. Gao, Yuan & Lopez, Rigoberto & Liao, Ruili & Liu, Xiaoou, 2021. "Public Health Shocks, Learning, and Persistent Diet Improvement," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 314973, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    19. Ying Cui & Yue Han, 2022. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Urban Residents—Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-17, December.
    20. Marquez-Padilla, Fernanda, 2021. "When less is more: Can reduced health monitoring improve medication adherence?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    21. Fang, Guanfu & Li, Wei & Zhu, Ying, 2022. "The shadow of the epidemic: Long-term impacts of meningitis exposure on risk preference and behaviors," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    22. Shooshan Danagoulian & Thomas A. Wilk, 2022. "Locking out prevention: Dental care in the midst of a pandemic," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(9), pages 1973-1992, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health shocks; Health behaviors; Hand washing; Children; Diarrhea;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development

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