Run for your life? The effect of close elections on the life expectancy of politicians

Mark Borgschulte and Jacob Vogler

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2019, vol. 167, issue C, 18-32

Abstract: We estimate the causal effect of election to political office on natural lifespan using a regression discontinuity design and a novel dataset of winning and losing candidates for US governor, senator, and House representative. We find that candidates gain over a year of life from winning a close election. The effect is strongest for governors, and has grown larger over the course of US history. We also examine the effect of stress experienced in office, finding that serving in more challenging situations is not associated with reduced lifespan.

Keywords: Mortality; Status; Longevity; Stress; Politicians; Regression discontinuity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 J14 M12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Working Paper: Run For Your Life? The Effect of Close Elections on the Life Expectancy of Politicians (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:167:y:2019:i:c:p:18-32

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2019.09.003

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