Causal effect of income on health: Investigating two closely related policy reforms in Austria

I investigate the effect of income on mortality of the pensioners, com- paring three subsequent policy periods in Austria. The pensioners who retired in the second period received 25% lower pension than those in the first period. This reduction in income was removed in the third policy period. These two reforms allow a causal identification of the effect of in- come on health. I estimate that lower pension did not change the mortality rate. The results are confirmed using both experiments and different meth- ods of estimation. Furthermore, with regard to the expenditure on health services, I get that only prescribed drug consumption increased, with the remaining analyzed factors being unaffected.