IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/geb/wpaper/2017-01.html

The Relationship between Working Hours and Mortality in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Murat Anil Mercan

    (Department of Economics, Gebze Technical University)

Abstract

This study bridges a gap in the literature by examining the relationship between working hours and the probability of mortality among older workers in the United States. We have applied the Cox regression method, a frequently used approach in survival analysis, to panel data from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS). We have found a small negative relationship exists between working hours and the probability of mortality. This study’s findings may raise questions about the need for initiatives in the European Union and other countries that regulate the length of work schedules.

Suggested Citation

  • Murat Anil Mercan, 2017. "The Relationship between Working Hours and Mortality in the United States," Working Papers 2017-01, Gebze Technical University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:geb:wpaper:2017-01
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.gtu.edu.tr/fileman/Files/UserFiles/isletme_fakultesi_dekanligi/econwp/gtuwp-2017-01.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2017
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeremy M. Jacobs & Robert Hammerman-Rozenberg & Aaron Cohen & Jochanan Stessman, 2008. "Reading Daily Predicts Reduced Mortality Among Men From a Cohort of Community-Dwelling 70-Year-Olds," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 63(2), pages 73-80.
    2. Aïda Solé-Auró & Pierre-Carl Michaud & Michael Hurd & Eileen Crimmins, 2015. "Disease Incidence and Mortality Among Older Americans and Europeans," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(2), pages 593-611, April.
    3. Courtemanche Charles, 2009. "Longer Hours and Larger Waistlines? The Relationship between Work Hours and Obesity," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 12(2), pages 1-33, May.
    4. David E. Bloom & David Canning & Günther Fink, 2010. "Implications of population ageing for economic growth," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 26(4), pages 583-612, Winter.
    5. Noelke, C. & Beckfield, J., 2014. "Recessions, job loss, and mortality among older us adults," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(11), pages 126-134.
    6. Katja Pynnönen & Timo Törmäkangas & Riitta-Liisa Heikkinen & Taina Rantanen & Tiina-Mari Lyyra, 2012. "Does Social Activity Decrease Risk for Institutionalization and Mortality in Older People?," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 67(6), pages 765-774.
    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. Mercan, Murat A., 2016. "How May Working Hours and Occupations Affect Arthritis? Results from a Nationally Representative Dataset," MPRA Paper 75228, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Courtemanche, Charles & Tchernis, Rusty & Zhou, Xilin, 2017. "Parental Work Hours and Childhood Obesity: Evidence Using Instrumental Variables Related to Sibling School Eligibility," IZA Discussion Papers 10739, IZA Network @ LISER.
    3. Cristina Bosch-Farré & Maria Carmen Malagón-Aguilera & David Ballester-Ferrando & Carme Bertran-Noguer & Anna Bonmatí-Tomàs & Sandra Gelabert-Vilella & Dolors Juvinyà-Canal, 2020. "Healthy Ageing in Place: Enablers and Barriers from the Perspective of the Elderly. A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-23, September.
    4. Chen Wu & Yang Cao & Hao Xu, 2025. "How Population Aging Drives Labor Productivity: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-28, May.
    5. Johanna Catherine Maclean, 2016. "Does Leaving School in an Economic Downturn Persistently Affect Body Weight? Evidence from Panel Data," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 122-148, January.
    6. Federico Barbiellini Amidei & Matteo Gomellini & Paolo Piselli, 2018. "The contribution of demography to Italy's economic growth: a two-hundred-year-long story," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 431, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    7. 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.
    8. Héctor Bellido & Miriam Marcén, 2019. "Fertility and the business cycle: the European case," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1289-1319, December.
    9. van der Velde, Lucas, 2022. "Phasing out: Routine tasks and retirement," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 784-803.
    10. Heo, Ye Jin, 2022. "Population aging and house prices: Who are we calling old?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    11. Sang-Hyop Lee & Jungsuk Kim & Donghyun Park, 2017. "Demographic Change and Fiscal Sustainability in Asia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 287-322, October.
    12. Kyriakos Emmmanouildis, 2025. "Militarization’s effects on fiscal responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: an empirical investigation through a structural equation model," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 5(7), pages 1-25, July.
    13. Alfred Garloff & Rüdiger Wapler, 2013. "Are the Number of Skilled Workers Running Out in Germany? The (Non)-Consequences of Demographic Change," ERSA conference papers ersa13p854, European Regional Science Association.
    14. Andrea Modena & Luca Regis & Giorgio Rizzini, 2025. "The Equilibrium Effects of Mortality Risk," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_709, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    15. Attar, M. Aykut, 2013. "Growth and Demography in Turkey: Economic History vs. Pro-Natalist Rhetoric," MPRA Paper 47275, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Valerija Botric & Tanja Broz, 2017. "Gender Differences in Financial Inclusion: Central and South Eastern Europe," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 15(2), pages 209-227.
    17. Katarzyna Maj-Waśniowska & Tomasz Jedynak, 2020. "The Issues and Challenges of Local Government Units in the Era of Population Ageing," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-23, June.
    18. Krystian Heffner & Brygida Klemens & Brygida Solga, 2019. "Challenges of Regional Development in the Context of Population Ageing. Analysis Based on the Example of Opolskie Voivodeship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, September.
    19. Goh, Soo Khoon & McNown, Robert & Wong, Koi Nyen, 2020. "Macroeconomic implications of population aging: Evidence from Japan," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    20. Wen-Hsin Huang & Yen-Ju Lin & Hsien-Feng Lee, 2019. "Impact of Population and Workforce Aging on Economic Growth: Case Study of Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-13, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:geb:wpaper:2017-01. 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: Abdullah Altun (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ibgyttr.html .

    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.