IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jhecon/v49y2016icp59-69.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Quantile treatment effects of job loss on health

Author

Listed:
  • Schiele, Valentin
  • Schmitz, Hendrik

Abstract

Studies on health effects of job loss mostly estimate mean effects. We argue that the effects might differ over the distribution of the health status and use quantile regression methods to provide a more complete picture. To take the potential endogeneity of job loss into account, we estimate quantile treatment effects where we rely on job loss due to plant closures. We find that the effect of job loss indeed varies across the mental and physical health distribution. Job loss due to plant closures affects physical health adversely for individuals in the middle and lower part of the health distribution while those in best physical condition do not seem to be affected. The results for mental health, though less distinct, point in the same direction. We find no effects on BMI.

Suggested Citation

  • Schiele, Valentin & Schmitz, Hendrik, 2016. "Quantile treatment effects of job loss on health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 59-69.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:49:y:2016:i:c:p:59-69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2016.06.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629616300443
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2016.06.005?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. Eliason, Marcus & Storrie, Donald, 2009. "Job loss is bad for your health - Swedish evidence on cause-specific hospitalization following involuntary job loss," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(8), pages 1396-1406, April.
    2. Browning, Martin & Heinesen, Eskil, 2012. "Effect of job loss due to plant closure on mortality and hospitalization," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 599-616.
    3. Sergio Firpo, 2007. "Efficient Semiparametric Estimation of Quantile Treatment Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 75(1), pages 259-276, January.
    4. John Gathergood, 2013. "An Instrumental Variable Approach To Unemployment, Psychological Health And Social Norm Effects," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(6), pages 643-654, June.
    5. Alexander Ahammer & G. Thomas Horvath & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2017. "The effect of income on mortality—new evidence for the absence of a causal link," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 180(3), pages 793-816, June.
    6. Marcus, Jan, 2013. "The Effect of Unemployment on the Mental Health of Spouses – Evidence from plant closures in Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 546-558.
    7. Stewart, Jennifer M., 2001. "The impact of health status on the duration of unemployment spells and the implications for studies of the impact of unemployment on health status," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 781-796, September.
    8. Martin Binder & Alex Coad, 2015. "Unemployment impacts differently on the extremes of the distribution of a comprehensive well-being measure," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(8), pages 619-627, May.
    9. Martin Huber & Michael Lechner & Conny Wunsch, 2011. "Does leaving welfare improve health? Evidence for Germany," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 484-504, April.
    10. Markus Frölich & Blaise Melly, 2013. "Unconditional Quantile Treatment Effects Under Endogeneity," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(3), pages 346-357, July.
    11. Martin Salm, 2009. "Does job loss cause ill health?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(9), pages 1075-1089, September.
    12. Reichert, Arndt & Tauchmann, Harald, 2011. "The Causal Impact of Fear of Unemployment on Psychological Health," Ruhr Economic Papers 266, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    13. Arrow, J. O., 1996. "Estimating the influence of health as a risk factor on unemployment: A survival analysis of employment durations for workers surveyed in the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984-1990)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 42(12), pages 1651-1659, June.
    14. Martin Binder & Alex Coad, 2015. "Heterogeneity in the Relationship Between Unemployment and Subjective Wellbeing: A Quantile Approach," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 82(328), pages 865-891, October.
    15. Kuhn, Andreas & Lalive, Rafael & Zweimüller, Josef, 2009. "The public health costs of job loss," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 1099-1115, December.
    16. Petri Böckerman & Pekka Ilmakunnas, 2009. "Unemployment and self‐assessed health: evidence from panel data," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(2), pages 161-179, February.
    17. Marcus Eliason & Donald Storrie, 2009. "Does Job Loss Shorten Life?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(2).
    18. Ezzy, Douglas, 1993. "Unemployment and mental health: A critical review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 41-52, July.
    19. Mikael Lindahl, 2005. "Estimating the Effect of Income on Health and Mortality Using Lottery Prizes as an Exogenous Source of Variation in Income," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
    20. Mandal, Bidisha & Ayyagari, Padmaja & Gallo, William T., 2011. "Job loss and depression: The role of subjective expectations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(4), pages 576-583, February.
    21. Matthias Nübling & Hanfried H. Andersen & Axel Mühlbacher & Jürgen Schupp & Gert G. Wagner, 2007. "Computation of Standard Values for Physical and Mental Health Scale Scores Using the SOEP Version of SF12v2," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 127(1), pages 171-182.
    22. Jan Marcus, 2014. "Does Job Loss Make You Smoke and Gain Weight?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 81(324), pages 626-648, October.
    23. Schmitz, Hendrik, 2011. "Why are the unemployed in worse health? The causal effect of unemployment on health," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 71-78, January.
    24. Markus Frolich & Blaise Melly, 2010. "Estimation of quantile treatment effects with Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 10(3), pages 423-457, September.
    25. repec:zbw:rwirep:0266 is not listed on IDEAS
    26. van de Mheen, H. & Stronks, K. & Schrijvers, C. T. M. & Mackenbach, J. P., 1999. "The influence of adult ill health on occupational class mobility and mobility out of and into employment in The Netherlands," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 509-518, August.
    27. Schmitz, Hendrik & Westphal, Matthias, 2015. "Short- and medium-term effects of informal care provision on female caregivers’ health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 174-185.
    28. Frijters, Paul & Haisken-DeNew, John P. & Shields, Michael A., 2005. "The causal effect of income on health: Evidence from German reunification," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 997-1017, September.
    29. Salm, M., 2009. "Does job loss cause ill health?," Other publications TiSEM 314436db-9957-4912-ba47-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    30. Frijters, Paul & Haisken-DeNew, John P. & Shields, Michael A., 2005. "The causal effect of income on health: Evidence from German reunification," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 997-1017, September.
    31. Gert G. Wagner & Joachim R. Frick & Jürgen Schupp, 2007. "The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) – Scope, Evolution and Enhancements," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 127(1), pages 139-169.
    32. Green, Francis, 2011. "Unpacking the misery multiplier: How employability modifies the impacts of unemployment and job insecurity on life satisfaction and mental health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 265-276, 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. Freise, Diana & Schmitz, Hendrik & Westphal, Matthias, 2022. "Late-career unemployment and cognitive abilities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    2. Kamila Cygan‐Rehm & Daniel Kuehnle & Michael Oberfichtner, 2017. "Bounding the causal effect of unemployment on mental health: Nonparametric evidence from four countries," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(12), pages 1844-1861, December.
    3. Marcus, Jan, 2013. "The Effect of Unemployment on the Mental Health of Spouses – Evidence from plant closures in Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 546-558.
    4. Schmitz, Hendrik, 2011. "Why are the unemployed in worse health? The causal effect of unemployment on health," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 71-78, January.
    5. Jan Marcus;, 2012. "The effect of unemployment on the mental health of spouses - Evidence from plant closures in Germany," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 12/17, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    6. 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.
    7. Matthias Keese & Hendrik Schmitz, 2014. "Broke, Ill, and Obese: Is There an Effect of Household Debt on Health?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(3), pages 525-541, September.
    8. Johannes Stauder, 2019. "Unemployment, unemployment duration, and health: selection or causation?," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(1), pages 59-73, February.
    9. 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.
    10. Been, J.; & Suari-Andreu, E.; & Knoef, M.;, 2022. "The short-run effects of unexpected job loss on health," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 22/21, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    11. Bassanini, Andrea & Caroli, Eve, 2014. "Is work bad for health? The role of constraint vs choice," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1402, CEPREMAP.
    12. repec:dau:papers:123456789/12483 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Bubonya, Melisa & Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Ribar, David C., 2017. "The Bilateral Relationship between Depressive Symptoms and Employment Status," IZA Discussion Papers 10653, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Jan Marcus, 2014. "Does Job Loss Make You Smoke and Gain Weight?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 81(324), pages 626-648, October.
    15. Tian, Xinping & Gong, Jinquan & Zhang, Yueqiu, 2018. "The effects of job displacement on health: Evidence from the economic restructuring in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 136-150.
    16. Lídia Farré & Francesco Fasani & Hannes Mueller, 2018. "Feeling useless: the effect of unemployment on mental health in the Great Recession," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-34, December.
    17. repec:zbw:rwirep:0234 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Rocco, Lorenzo & Crema, Angela & Simonato, Lorenzo & Cestari, Laura, 2018. "The effect of job loss on pharmaceutical prescriptions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 73-83.
    19. Alexander Ahammer & Dominik Grübl & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2020. "The health externalities of downsizing," CDL Aging, Health, Labor working papers 2020-05, The Christian Doppler (CD) Laboratory Aging, Health, and the Labor Market, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    20. Matteo Picchio & Michele Ubaldi, 2024. "Unemployment and health: A meta‐analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 1437-1472, September.
    21. Kleibrink, Jan, 2014. "Sick of your Job? – Negative Health Effects from Non-Optimal Employment," Ruhr Economic Papers 514, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    22. Matthias Keese & Hendrik Schmitz, 2010. "Broke, Ill, and Obese: The Effect of Household Debt on Health," Ruhr Economic Papers 0234, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Job loss; Health; BMI; Plant closure; Quantile treatment effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J65 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

    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:eee:jhecon:v:49:y:2016:i:c:p:59-69. 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/locate/inca/505560 .

    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.