Dying to Work: Effects of Unemployment Insurance on Health

Alexander Ahammer and Analisa Packham ()
Additional contact information
Analisa Packham: https://sites.google.com/site/analisapackham/

No 2020-09, Economics working papers from Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria

Abstract: Using administrative data for Upper Austrian workers from 2003–2013, we show that an extension in unemployment insurance (UI) duration increases unemployment length and impacts worker physical and mental health. These effects vary by gender. Specifically, we find that women eligible for an additional 9 weeks of UI benefits fill fewer opioid and antidepressant prescriptions and experience a lower likelihood of filing a disability claim, as compared to non-eligible unemployed women. Moreover, estimates indicate within-household spillovers for young children. For men, we find that extending UI benefit duration increases the likelihood of a cardiac event and eventual disability retirement filing.

Keywords: Unemployment insurance; health; disability; opioids (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 I38 J18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-hea, nep-ias and nep-lab
Note: English
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Working Paper: Dying to Work: Effects of Unemployment Insurance on Health (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jku:econwp:2020-09

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