IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v267y2020ics0277953619303624.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regional employment and individual worklessness during the Great Recession and the health of the working-age population: Cross-national analysis of 16 European countries

Author

Listed:
  • Niedzwiedz, Claire L.
  • Thomson, Katie H.
  • Bambra, Clare
  • Pearce, Jamie R.

Abstract

Studies from single countries suggest that local labour market conditions, including rates of employment, tend to be associated with the health of the populations residing in those areas, even after adjustment for individual characteristics including employment status. The aim of this study is to strengthen the cross-national evidence base on the influence of regional employment levels and individual worklessness on health during the period of the Great Recession. We investigate whether higher regional employment levels are associated with better health over and above individual level employment. Individual level data (N = 23,078 aged 15–64 years) were taken from 16 countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom) participating in the 2014 European Social Survey. Regional employment rates were extracted from Eurostat, corresponding with the start (2008) and end (2013) of the Great Recession. Health outcomes included self-reported heart or circulation problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, self-rated health, depression, obesity and allergies (as a falsification test). We calculated multilevel Poisson regression models, which included individuals nested within regions, controlling for potential confounding variables and country fixed effects. After adjustment for individual level socio-demographic factors, higher average regional employment rates (from 2008 to 2013) were associated with better health outcomes. Individual level worklessness was associated with worsened health outcomes, most strongly with poor self-rated health. In models including both individual worklessness and the average regional employment rate, regional employment remained associated with heart and circulation problems, depression and obesity. There was evidence of an interaction between individual worklessness and regional employment for poor self-rated health and depression. The findings suggest that across 16 European countries, for some key outcomes, higher levels of employment in the regional labour market may be beneficial for the health of the local population.

Suggested Citation

  • Niedzwiedz, Claire L. & Thomson, Katie H. & Bambra, Clare & Pearce, Jamie R., 2020. "Regional employment and individual worklessness during the Great Recession and the health of the working-age population: Cross-national analysis of 16 European countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:267:y:2020:i:c:s0277953619303624
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112377
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953619303624
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112377?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Platt, Stephen & Micciolo, Rocco & Tansella, Michele, 1992. "Suicide and unemployment in Italy: Description, analysis and interpretation of recent trends," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 1191-1201, June.
    2. Platt, Stephen, 1984. "Unemployment and suicidal behaviour: A review of the literature," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 93-115, January.
    3. Colman, Gregory & Dave, Dhaval, 2013. "Exercise, physical activity, and exertion over the business cycle," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 11-20.
    4. Richard J Shaw & Michaela Benzeval & Frank Popham, 2014. "To What Extent Do Financial Strain and Labour Force Status Explain Social Class Inequalities in Self-Rated Health? Analysis of 20 Countries in the European Social Survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(10), pages 1-11, October.
    5. Fone, David & Dunstan, Frank & Williams, Gareth & Lloyd, Keith & Palmer, Stephen, 2007. "Places, people and mental health: A multilevel analysis of economic inactivity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 633-645, February.
    6. Ioana Popovici & Michael T. French, 2013. "Does Unemployment Lead to Greater Alcohol Consumption?," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(2), pages 444-466, April.
    7. Tøge, Anne Grete & Blekesaune, Morten, 2015. "Unemployment transitions and self-rated health in Europe: A longitudinal analysis of EU-SILC from 2008 to 2011," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 171-178.
    8. Hopkins, Sandra, 2006. "Economic stability and health status: Evidence from East Asia before and after the 1990s economic crisis," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 347-357, February.
    9. Roelfs, David J. & Shor, Eran & Davidson, Karina W. & Schwartz, Joseph E., 2011. "Losing life and livelihood: A systematic review and meta-analysis of unemployment and all-cause mortality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(6), pages 840-854, March.
    10. Sundquist, Kristina & Theobald, Holger & Yang, Min & Li, Xinjun & Johansson, Sven-Erik & Sundquist, Jan, 2006. "Neighborhood violent crime and unemployment increase the risk of coronary heart disease: A multilevel study in an urban setting," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(8), pages 2061-2071, April.
    11. Nattavudh Powdthavee, 2007. "Are there Geographical Variations in the Psychological Cost of Unemployment in South Africa?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 80(3), pages 629-652, February.
    12. Benzeval, Michaela, 1998. "The self-reported health status of lone parents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1337-1353, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Andrew E. Clark, 2009. "Work, jobs and well-being across the Millennium," Working Papers halshs-00566139, HAL.
    2. Clark, Andrew & Knabe, Andreas & Rätzel, Steffen, 2010. "Boon or bane? Others' unemployment, well-being and job insecurity," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 52-61, January.
    3. Anyikwa, Izunna & Hamman, Nicolene & Phiri, Andrew, 2018. "Persistence of suicides in G20 countries: SPSM approach to three generations of unit root tests," MPRA Paper 87790, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Allison Milner & Andrew Page & Anthony D LaMontagne, 2013. "Long-Term Unemployment and Suicide: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(1), pages 1-6, January.
    5. Koursaros, Demetris, 2017. "Labor market dynamics when (un)employment is a social norm," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 96-116.
    6. Sarah H. Gordon & Benjamin D. Sommers, 2016. "Recessions, Poverty, and Mortality in the United States: 1993–2012," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 2(4), pages 489-510, Fall.
    7. Di Pietro, Giorgio, 2018. "Revisiting the impact of macroeconomic conditions on health behaviours," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 173-181.
    8. Phillips, Julie A. & Nugent, Colleen N., 2014. "Suicide and the Great Recession of 2007–2009: The role of economic factors in the 50 U.S. states," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 22-31.
    9. Andrew Phiri & Doreen Mukuku, 2020. "Does unemployment aggravate suicide rates in South Africa? Some empirical evidence," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 78(4), pages 532-560, October.
    10. Lorena Cecilia López Steinmetz & Romina Lucrecia López Steinmetz & Juan Carlos Godoy, 2020. "Is unemployment less important than expected for suicide attempted in developing regions? Occupational profile of suicide attempts in Jujuy, north westernmost Argentina," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(1), pages 67-75, February.
    11. Andrew E. Clark, 2018. "Four Decades of the Economics of Happiness: Where Next?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(2), pages 245-269, June.
    12. Wang, Huixia & Wang, Chenggang & Halliday, Timothy J., 2018. "Health and health inequality during the great recession: Evidence from the PSID," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 17-30.
    13. Isabel Aguilar-Palacio & Patricia Carrera-Lasfuentes & M. Rabanaque, 2015. "Youth unemployment and economic recession in Spain: influence on health and lifestyles in young people (16–24 years old)," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 60(4), pages 427-435, May.
    14. Colombo, Emilio & Rotondi, Valentina & Stanca, Luca, 2018. "Macroeconomic conditions and health: Inspecting the transmission mechanism," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 29-37.
    15. Fritzell, Sara & Ringbäck Weitoft, Gunilla & Fritzell, Johan & Burström, Bo, 2007. "From macro to micro: The health of Swedish lone mothers during changing economic and social circumstances," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(12), pages 2474-2488, December.
    16. Aysit Tansel & H. Mehmet Taşçı, 2010. "Hazard Analysis of Unemployment Duration by Gender in a Developing Country: The Case of Turkey," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 24(4), pages 501-530, December.
    17. Jacques Wels, & Booth, Charlotte & Wielgoszewska, Bożena & Green, Michael J. & Di Gessa, Giorgio & Huggins, Charlotte F. & Griffith, Gareth J. & Kwong, Alex S.F. & Bowyer, Ruth C.E. & Maddock, Jane & , 2022. "Mental and social wellbeing and the UK coronavirus job retention scheme: Evidence from nine longitudinal studies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    18. Joelle Abramowitz, 2016. "The connection between working hours and body mass index in the U.S.: a time use analysis," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 131-154, March.
    19. Andrew Clark & Andreas Knabe & Steffen Rätzel, 2009. "Unemployment as a Social Norm in Germany," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 129(2), pages 251-260.
    20. Everding, Jakob & Marcus, Jan, 2020. "The effect of unemployment on the smoking behavior of couples," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 29(2), pages 154-170.

    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:socmed:v:267:y:2020:i:c:s0277953619303624. 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/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    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.