Macroeconomic Conditions and Health: Inspecting the Transmission Mechanism

Emilio Colombo, Valentina Rotondi and Luca Stanca

No 337, Working Papers from University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper studies the effects of labor market conditions on individual-level health, investigating the factors that moderate and mediate this relationship. Using a large and representative sample of individuals in Italy between 1993 and 2012, we shed light on the transmission mechanism, focusing on the role played by health behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, eating habits) and economic stress. We find that, overall, higher local unemployment negatively affects health, with a dynamic response that differs across health conditions. Employment status and educational level play a significant role as moderators of these effects. Eating habits, in addition to economic stress, are found to play a key role in the transmission mechanism, while physical activity acts as a buffer against the adverse health effects of unemployment shocks.

Keywords: Economic conditions; unemployment; health behaviors; health outcomes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 I10 I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25
Date: 2016-12-31, Revised 2016-12-31
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Journal Article: Macroeconomic conditions and health: Inspecting the transmission mechanism (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mib:wpaper:337

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