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Unemployed, uneducated and sick: the effects of socio‐economic status on health duration in the European Union

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  • D. Cooper
  • W. D. McCausland
  • I. Theodossiou

Abstract

Summary. We employ a hazard function approach to estimate the effect of socio‐economic and individual characteristics on the length of time that an individual remains in good health. The European Community Household Panel data set, for 13 European countries, for the years 1994–2002 is used. The study employs a relatively objective measure of physical health, the physical and mental health problems, illnesses and disabilities measure. The results show that socio‐economic status does affect the likelihood of individuals entering bad health. In particular, unemployment experience increases and educational attainment decreases the probability that a person will cease to enjoy good health. Income effects are, however, somewhat weaker, being confined to a small number of countries and being mainly observed only for the highest income quartile. Age and gender effects are also found.

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  • D. Cooper & W. D. McCausland & I. Theodossiou, 2008. "Unemployed, uneducated and sick: the effects of socio‐economic status on health duration in the European Union," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 171(4), pages 939-952, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:171:y:2008:i:4:p:939-952
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-985X.2008.00541.x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Matteo Picchio & Michele Ubaldi, 2024. "Unemployment and health: A meta‐analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 1437-1472, September.
    3. Sarah Brown & Jennifer Roberts & Karl Taylor, 2010. "Reservation wages, labour market participation and health," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 173(3), pages 501-529, July.
    4. Isabel Correia Dias & Priscila Ferreira & Lígia Costa Pinto & Marieta Valente & Paula Veiga, 2017. "Growing old, unhealthy and unequal: an exploratory study on the health of Portuguese individuals aged 50+," NIMA Working Papers 67, Núcleo de Investigação em Microeconomia Aplicada (NIMA), Universidade do Minho, revised Jun 2018.
    5. Bachmann, Ronald & Beimann, Boris & Bredtmann, Julia & David, Peggy & Ehlert, Christoph & Kassenböhmer, Sonja & Schaffner, Sandra & Siemers, Lars, 2011. "Studies on flexicurity Lot 1: Study on various aspects of labour market performance using micro data from the European Union statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). Contract No. VC/2010/," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 72620.
    6. Kelly Huegaerts & Bram Spruyt & Christophe Vanroelen, 2018. "Youth Unemployment and Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Embodiment," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-14, June.
    7. Fadime İrem Dogan & H. Gökhan Akay, 2024. "The Impact of Unemployment on Health Status: The Case of Turkey," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 67(1), pages 29-46, March.

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