Health Economics · 2014 · 169 citations · 22 references
Social SciencesPsychologyCausal InferenceLabor EconomicsMental Health In Older AdultsMental HealthPanel Data AnalysisPanel Data MethodsSocioeconomic Determinants Of HealthUnemploymentWorking ConditionsDemand-side EffectsDemand-side ResponsesDifferential Measurement ErrorFixed Effects Instrumental VariablesIndividual Fixed EffectsInstrumental Variable AnalysisLabour Market EffectsPanel Data Estimation
To what extent does poor mental health affect employment outcomes? Answering this question involves multiple technical difficulties: two-way causality between health and work, unobservable confounding factors and measurement error in survey measures of mental health. We attempt to overcome these difficulties by combining 10 waves of high-quality panel data with an instrumental variable model that allows for individual-level fixed effects. We focus on the extensive margin of employment, and we find evidence that a one-standard-deviation decline in mental health reduces employment by 30 percentage points. Further investigations suggest that this effect is predominantly a supply rather than a demand-side response and is larger for older than young workers.
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