The Effect of Recreational Gambling on Regional Health Outcomes: Evidence from Canadian Provinces

Brad Humphreys, John Nyman and Jane Ruseski
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John Nyman: University of Minnesota, School of Public Health

No 16-28, Working Papers from Department of Economics, West Virginia University

Abstract: The relationship between gambling and health has important economic and public policy implications. We develop causal evidence on this relationship using data from the Canadian Community Health Survey and exploiting regional variation in access to legal gambling. Empirical models treat gambling as an endogenous regressor in explaining regional variation in health outcomes. Results from instrumental variable and bivariate probit models show recreational gambling has no or a negative impact on the probability of having certain chronic conditions and a positive impact on life satisfaction, differing from past studies that find a positive association between problem gambling and adverse health outcomes.

Keywords: gambling; health outcomes; bivariate probit; instrumental variables (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 L83 R28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2016-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
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