The Impact of Income Shocks on Health: Evidence from Cohort Data

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URL:	https://ub-madoc.bib.uni-mannheim.de/1539
URN:	urn:nbn:de:bsz:180-madoc-15391
Document Type:	Working paper
Year of publication:	2007
The title of a journal, publication series:	MEA Discussion Papers
Volume:	146
Place of publication:	Mannheim
Publication language:	English
Institution:	Außerfakultäre Einrichtungen > VWL insb Makroök u Wirtschaftspol (Börsch-Supan 1989-2011)
MADOC publication series:	Veröffentlichungen des MEA (Mannheim Research Institute For the Economics of Aging) > MEA Discussion Papers
Subject:	300 Social sciences, sociology, anthropology
Subject headings (SWD):	Einkommen , Gesundheitsindikator , Gruppenforschung , Einfluss
Abstract:	We study the effect of permanent income innovations on health for a prime-aged population. Using information on more than half a million individuals sampled over a twenty-five year period in three different cross-sectional surveys we aggregate data by date-of-birth cohort to construct a ’synthetic cohort’ dataset with details of income, expenditure, socio-demographic factors, health outcomes and selected risk factors. We then exploit structural and arguably exogenous changes in cohort incomes over the eighties and nineties to uncover causal effects of permanent income shocks on health. We find that such income innovations have little effects on health, but do affect health behaviour and mortality.