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Is Work Bad for Health? The Role of Constraint versus Choice

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  • Eve Caroli

    (PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor - Institute for the Study of Labor, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Legos - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion des Organisations de Santé - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres)

  • Andrea Bassanini

    (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, OCDE - Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, IZA - Institute for the Study of Labor - Institute for the Study of Labor)

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature on the impact of work on health. We consider work along two dimensions: (i) the intensive margin, i.e. how many hours an individual works when employed and (ii) the extensive margin, i.e. whether an individual is in employment or not. We show that most of the evidence on the negative health impact of work found in the literature is based on situations in which workers have essentially no control (no choice) over the amount of work they provide. In essence, what is detrimental to health is not so much work per se as much as the gap which may exist between the actual and the desired amount of work, both at the intensive and extensive margins.

Suggested Citation

  • Eve Caroli & Andrea Bassanini, 2015. "Is Work Bad for Health? The Role of Constraint versus Choice," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-01247138, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-01247138
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    Cited by:

    1. Claudio Lucifora & Daria Vigani, 2018. "Health care utilization at retirement: The role of the opportunity cost of time," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(12), pages 2030-2050, December.
    2. Michael C. Knaus & Steffen Otterbach, 2019. "Work Hour Mismatch And Job Mobility: Adjustment Channels And Resolution Rates," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(1), pages 227-242, January.
    3. Matteo Picchio & Jan C. van Ours, 2020. "Mental Health Effects of Retirement," De Economist, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 419-452, September.
    4. Clémentine Garrouste & Elsa Perdrix, 2022. "Is there a consensus on the health consequences of retirement? A literature review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 841-879, September.
    5. Eve Caroli & Claudio Lucifora & Daria Vigani, 2016. "Is there a Retirement-Health Care utilization puzzle? Evidence from SHARE data in Europe," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def049, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    6. Vandenberghe, Vincent, 2019. "Health, Cognition and Work Capacity Beyond the Age of 50," GLO Discussion Paper Series 295, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Mattia Filomena & Matteo Picchio, 2023. "Retirement and health outcomes in a meta‐analytical framework," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 1120-1155, September.
    8. Vincent Vandenberghe, 2020. "The Rather Limited Role Of Mental Ill Health In Driving Work Beyond 50," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2020020, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    9. Thomas Barnay & Éric Defebvre, 2021. "Working conditions and disabilities in French workers: a career-long retrospective study," Erudite Working Paper 2021-14, Erudite.
    10. Vincent VANDENBERGHE, 2021. "Health, cognition and work capacity beyond the age of 50: International evidence on the extensive and intensive margins of work," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(2), pages 271-310, June.
    11. Pierre-Jean Messe & François-Charles Wolff, 2019. "Healthier when retiring earlier? Evidence from France," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(47), pages 5122-5143, October.
    12. Beckmannshagen, Mattis & Schröder, Carsten, 2022. "Earnings inequality and working hours mismatch," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    13. Eric Defebvre, 2016. "Harder, better, faster... yet stronger? Working conditions and self-declaration of chronic diseases," TEPP Working Paper 2016-07, TEPP.
    14. Mattis Beckmannshagen & Rick Glaubitz, 2023. "Is There a Desired Added Worker Effect?: Evidence from Involuntary Job Losses," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1200, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    15. Jan C. van Ours, 2022. "How Retirement Affects Mental Health, Cognitive Skills and Mortality; An Overview of Recent Empirical Evidence," De Economist, Springer, vol. 170(3), pages 375-400, August.
    16. Stéphane Carcillo & Alexander Hijzen & Stefan Thewissen, 2024. "The limitations of overtime limits to reduce long working hours: Evidence from the 2018 to 2021 working time reform in Korea," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(1), pages 98-126, March.
    17. Vandenberghe, Vincent, 2021. "Differentiating Retirement Age to Compensate for Career Arduousness," GLO Discussion Paper Series 803, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    18. Hélène Blake & Clémentine Garrouste, 2017. "Collateral effects of a pension reform in France," Working Papers hal-01500683, HAL.
    19. Miranti, Riyana & Li, Jinjing, 2020. "Working hours mismatch, job strain and mental health among mature age workers in Australia," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 15(C).
    20. Thomas Barnay & François-Olivier Baudot, 2020. "Work accident effect on the risk of benzodiazepine use and overuse," Erudite Working Paper 2020-09, Erudite.
    21. Justine Bondoux & Thomas Barnay & Thomas Renaud & Florence Jusot, 2021. "How Does Disability Affect Income? An Empirical Study on Older European Workers," Erudite Working Paper 2021-05, Erudite.
    22. Éric Defebvre, 2018. "Harder, better, faster … Yet stronger? Working conditions and self‐declaration of chronic diseases," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(3), pages 59-76, March.

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