The effect of job loss on overweight and drinking
This paper examines the impact of job loss due to business closings on body mass index (BMI) and alcohol consumption. We suggest that the ambiguous findings in the extant literature may be due in part to unobserved heterogeneity in response and in part due to an overly broad measure of job loss that is partially endogenous (e.g., layoffs). We improve upon this literature using: exogenously determined business closings, a sophisticated estimation approach (finite mixture models) to deal with complex heterogeneity, and national, longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study. For both alcohol consumption and BMI, we find evidence that individuals who are more likely to respond to job loss by increasing unhealthy behaviors are already in the problematic range for these behaviors before losing their jobs. These results suggest the health effects of job loss could be concentrated among "at risk" individuals and could lead to negative outcomes for the individuals, their families, and society at large.
Year of publication: |
2011
|
---|---|
Authors: | Deb, Partha ; Gallo, William T. ; Ayyagari, Padmaja ; Fletcher, Jason M. ; Sindelar, Jody L. |
Published in: |
Journal of Health Economics. - Elsevier, ISSN 0167-6296. - Vol. 30.2011, 2, p. 317-327
|
Publisher: |
Elsevier |
Keywords: | Job loss Drinking BMI Business closings Finite mixture models |
Saved in:
Online Resource
Saved in favorites
Similar items by person
-
Job loss : eat, drink and try to be merry?
Deb, Partha, (2009)
-
Sin taxes : do heterogeneous responses undercut their value?
Ayyagari, Padmaja, (2009)
-
The effect of job loss on overweight and drinking
Deb, Partha, (2011)
- More ...