The effects of health shocks on labor market outcomes : evidence from UK panel data

This study examines the link between health shocks and labor market outcomes in the United Kingdom. For sample periods of up to nine years, I use longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey to test how sudden health shocks affect a number of labor market outcomes, such as labor and household income, employment status, and hours worked. Additionally, the study examines potential mechanisms underlying the link between health declines and labor market outcomes. By estimating propensity score matching difference-in-differences models, the study shows that sudden health declines lead to significant and persistent reductions in earnings. The effects are strongest for individuals experiencing severe health shocks, males, individuals with higher education and those working in managerial jobs. When examining potential channels, I provide evidence that increased health care expenditures and health care usage as well as reduced work productivity can explain the observed effects on labor market outcomes

The role of economic shocks on health : evidence from German Reunification

Sudden economic shocks impact the everyday lives of people from one day to the next. A number of studies have examined the association between economic fluctuations and health; however, no consensus on the nature of this relationship has been established. By exploiting the dramatic economic fluctuations following the German Reunification of 1990, which included a sudden change from a socialist to a capitalist system in East Germany, this study examines the association between broad negative economic shocks and health. The article finds that increases in state unemployment rates are associated with large and statistically significant declines in health outcomes. Estimates are stronger for people who became unemployed shortly after reunification, for low‐income individuals, and for East Germans, a group confronted with larger economic fluctuations

More than just the adoption of Western capitalism? Time use changes in East Germany following Reunification

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this paper examines changes in East German time use following the German Reunification of 1990, which led to large and unexpected economic and institutional changes, including the switch from a socialist to a capitalist system. By estimating Differences-in-Differences models, the study finds that East Germans reduced the time they spend on market work (96 minutes per weekday) and nonmarket work (51 minutes), while increasing the time allocated toward leisure and job search activities. The observed declines in market work time were largest for low-educated East Germans, those who were in the lowest income group, as well as for individuals between the ages 46 and 64. When comparing trends in time use for East and West Germany between 1990 and 2000, I provide evidence for a convergence in East German time use to its West German counterpart following the adoption of Western Capitalism and several other institutional and economic changes in East Germany. One possible explanation for this might be the adoption of West German time preferences following the reunion of the two regions

Pathways between minimum wages and health : the roles of health insurance, health care access and health care utilization

This study contributes to recent work on the relationship between minimum wages and health by examining potential underlying mechanisms. Specifically, the roles of health insurance, health care access and utilization are explored. By analyzing Current Population Survey data for the years 1989-2009 and by estimating DD models, I find that higher minimum wages increase health insurance coverage, in particular individually purchased insurance, among low-educated individuals. By estimating data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for the same period, I furthermore provide evidence for improvements in health care access/affordability and increased health care utilization following minimum wage increases

The effects of minimum wages on teenage birth rates

This study adds to a recently growing number of studies evaluating non-employment effects of minimum wages. Using U.S. data between 1995 and 2017, a period with 380 state-level minimum wage increases, I estimate the effect on teenage birth rates (age 15-19). I find that a $1 increase in minimum wages is associated to a 2.8-3.4 percent decline in teenage birth rates, which corresponds to 1.1 to 1.3 fewer birth per 1,000 young women. My analysis shows that the effects are driven by states that also have state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) laws in place. Furthermore, I show that minimum wages are also associated with a 2.9 percent decline in birth rates among women aged 20 to 24, and with smaller but statistically significant declines in birth rates for women between the ages 25 to 39. These findings suggest that, rather than delaying childbearing age, minimum wage reduce overall birth rates

The effects of income on health : new evidence from the Earned Income Tax Credit

This study examines the relationship between income and health by using an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which increased benefits to households with at least two children, as a source of exogenous variations of earnings. The paper adds to previous work by: (1) estimating treatment effects on the treated using simulated EITC benefits and longitudinal data; (2) testing whether health effects vary across the three different parts of the EITC schedule; (3) examining the role of food expenditures and health insurance as potential mechanisms. The study finds that income improves the likelihood of affected heads of households reporting to be in excellent or very good health by 6.9 to 8.9 percentage points. The effects are largest in the plateau phase of the EITC schedule, where previous researchers have identified pure income effects of the program. The results are robust to several additional specifications, including a semi-parametric DD model and specifications that account for the potential endogeneity of sample. When examining potential channels underlying the relationship between income and health, I find that affected household increase their food expenditures by 10.5 to 20.3 percent and are 1.52 percent more likely to have health insurance coverage

Income assistance programs and population health : the dual impact of minimum wages and the earned income tax credit

In this study, we provide new evidence on the interaction of state-level minimum wages and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) laws on several measures of population health. Using data from the National Vital Statistics Reports between 1999 and 2018, we estimate difference-in-differences models to evaluate the dual impact of minimum wages and the EITC on various causes of mortality, such as suicides, motor accidents and assaults. While several researchers have examined the health effects of both these policies separately, few studies have examined the potential interaction effects of these policies. Specifically, while previous work has provided evidence that both minimum wages and the EITC can reduce suicide rates, our study contributes to the literature by showing that the policies have a positive dual impact on population health. We find that a $1 increase in minimum wages reduces death rates due to suicides and assaults by 3.8 percent and 15.2 percent in states with EITC laws, respectively. In contrast, we show that minimum wages do not impact these outcomes in states without state-level EITC laws

Til Insurance Do Us Part: : the Effect of the Affordable Care Act Preexisting Conditions Provision on Marriage

This paper investigates the effect of the 2014 Affordable Care Act preexisting conditions provisionon marriage. The policy was implemented to prevent insurers from denying insurance coverage to individuals with health conditions. We test whether the implementation of the provision led to decreases in marriage among affected adults. We add to earlier work on how marital behavior is influenced by policy incentives and examine for the presence of “marriage lock”, a situation in which individuals remain married primarily for insurance. Using data from 2009-2015 and difference-in-differences models, we find that males with preexisting conditions are 5.15 percentage points (6.40 percent) less likely to be married after the policy implementation. Effects are largest for men who had insurance coverage prior to the policy change from a source other than his own employer, suggesting that the inability to attain individual coverage and reliance on spousal insurance provided incentives to remain married

Does paid family leave affect abortion? : Evidence from New York

As state Paid Family Leave (PFL) programs continue to roll out across the United States, previous work has sought to investigate their impacts on economic, child, and maternal outcomes, including fertility. The impact they may have on abortion is however still unexplored. We employ the Synthetic-Difference-in-Differences estimator developed by Arkhangelsky et al. (2021) to estimate the effect of New York’s PFL program (NY-PFL) on abortion rates. Using abortion data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we find that the launch of NY-PFL in 2018 led to a 13.6% decrease in abortion rates per 1,000 women for the 20-39 age group, with smaller effects observed for older women. Event-study estimates reveal that this decrease intensified from an initial 7.1% decline in 2018-19 to 13.6% in 2021, while robustness checks underline the significance of our findings. Our exercise contributes further evidence towards the deliberation of state PFL programs