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Does Job Insecurity Deteriorate Health? A Causal Approach for Europe

Author

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  • Eve Caroli

    (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)

  • Mathilde Godard

    (Legos - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion des Organisations de Santé - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres, CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - ENSAI - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse de l'Information [Bruz] - X - École polytechnique - ENSAE Paris - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, LEDA-DIAL - Développement, Institutions et Modialisation - LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper estimates the causal effect of perceived job insecurity { i.e. the fear of involuntary job loss { on health in a sample of men from 22 European countries. We rely on an original instrumental variable approach based on the idea that workers perceive greater job security in countries where employment is strongly protected by the law, and relatively more so if employed in industries where employment protection legislation is more binding, i.e. in industries with a higher natural rate of dismissals. Using cross-country data from the 2010 European Working Conditions Survey, we show that when the potential endogeneity of job insecurity is not accounted for, the latter appears to deteriorate almost all health outcomes. When tackling the endogeneity issue by estimating an IV model and dealing with potential weak-instrument issues, the health-damaging effect of job insecurity is confirmed for a limited subgroup of health outcomes, namely suffering from headaches or eyestrain and skin problems. As for other health variables, the impact of job insecurity appears to be insignificant at conventional levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Eve Caroli & Mathilde Godard, 2014. "Does Job Insecurity Deteriorate Health? A Causal Approach for Europe," PSE Working Papers hal-00784777, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:psewpa:hal-00784777
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://pjse.hal.science/hal-00784777v2
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    Cited by:

    1. Italo A. Gutierrez & Pierre-Carl Michaud, 2017. "Whistle While You Work: Job Insecurity and Older Workers' Mental Health in the United States," Cahiers de recherche 1702, Chaire de recherche Industrielle Alliance sur les enjeux économiques des changements démographiques.
    2. Rohde, Nicholas & Tang, K.K. & Osberg, Lars & Rao, Prasada, 2016. "The effect of economic insecurity on mental health: Recent evidence from Australian panel data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 250-258.
    3. Moscone, F. & Tosetti, E. & Vittadini, G., 2016. "The impact of precarious employment on mental health: The case of Italy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 86-95.
    4. Bassanini, Andrea & Caroli, Eve, 2014. "Is work bad for health? The role of constraint vs choice," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1402, CEPREMAP.
    5. Thomas Barnay, 2016. "Health, work and working conditions: a review of the European economic literature," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 17(6), pages 693-709, July.
    6. Clementine Garrouste & Mathilde Godard, 2016. "The Lasting Health Impact of Leaving School in a Bad Economy: Britons in the 1970s Recession," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(S2), pages 70-92, November.
    7. Tajana Guberina & Ai Min Wang, 2021. "Entrepreneurial Leadership Impact on Job security and Psychological Well-being during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A conceptual review," International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 6(6), pages 7-18, February.
    8. repec:dau:papers:123456789/12483 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Clémentine Garrouste & Mathilde Godard, 2016. "The lasting health impact of leaving school in a bad economy : Britons in the 1970s recession," Post-Print hal-01408637, HAL.
    10. Vladimíra Žofčinová & Milena Barinková & Zuzana Hrabovská, 2020. "University Teachers In Slovakia As A Special Category Of Employees In Public Administration: Social Stability Of Employment?," Public administration issues, Higher School of Economics, issue 6, pages 133-155.
    11. Pirani, Elena & Salvini, Silvana, 2015. "Is temporary employment damaging to health? A longitudinal study on Italian workers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 121-131.
    12. Dawei Wang & Chaoyue Zhao & Yalin Chen & Phil Maguire & Yixin Hu, 2020. "The Impact of Abusive Supervision on Job Insecurity: A Moderated Mediation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-14, October.
    13. Daniele Vignoli & Valentina Tocchioni & Silvana Salvini, 2015. "Uncertain Lives. Insights into the Role of Job Precariousness in Union Formation," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2015_02, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    14. Gutierrez, Italo A. & Michaud, Pierre-Carl, 2015. "Employer Downsizing and Older Workers' Health," IZA Discussion Papers 9140, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Elena Cottini & Paolo Ghinetti, 2018. "Employment insecurity and employees' health in Denmark," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 426-439, February.
    16. Clémentine Garrouste & Mathilde Godard, 2015. "The Lasting Health Impact of Leaving School in a Bad Economy: Britons in the 1970s Recession," Working Papers halshs-01521916, HAL.
    17. repec:dau:papers:123456789/14542 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Daniele Vignoli & Valentina Tocchioni & Silvana Salvini, 2016. "Uncertain lives: Insights into the role of job precariousness in union formation in Italy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(10), pages 253-282.
    19. Richard K. Moussa & Eric Delattre, 2023. "Dynamics of interactions between health and employment statuses: a panel data approach," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(8), pages 1-26, August.
    20. Nunzia Nappo, 2019. "Is there an association between working conditions and health? An analysis of the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-15, February.
    21. Thomas Leoni, 2015. "Wirkmodell Krankenstand," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58579, February.
    22. Christian Bünnings & Jan Kleibrink & Jens Weßling, 2017. "Fear of Unemployment and its Effect on the Mental Health of Spouses," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 104-117, January.
    23. Elena Pirani & Silvana Salvini, 2014. "Is temporary employment damaging to health? A longitudinal study on Italian workers," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2014_08, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Job insecurity; Health; Instrumental Variables;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I19 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Other
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

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