Recessions are Not Good for Your Health: the Counter-Cyclical Health Outcomes Revisited

Asali, Muhammad (2015): Recessions are Not Good for Your Health: the Counter-Cyclical Health Outcomes Revisited. Published in: European Economics Letters , Vol. 4, No. 1 (June 2015): pp. 11-14.

Abstract

The net, positive, effect of unemployment at conception on birth outcomes in developed countries is likely overestimated in the literature. This is the consequence of ignoring the effects of unemployment during pregnancy. Using data from Israel, we not only confirm this finding but also find that the harmful effects of unemployment in the third trimester are large enough to offset any preceding positive effects. Stress and nutritional deficiencies due to economic contractions during pregnancy are at least as important as the positive self-selection at conception. This finding calls for policy intervention to support pregnant women even in developed countries.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: recession; health outcomes; birth weight; developed countries
• Subjects: E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy > E24 - Employment ; Unemployment ; Wages ; Intergenerational Income Distribution ; Aggregate Human Capital ; Aggregate Labor Productivity; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E3 - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles > E32 - Business Fluctuations ; Cycles; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I12 - Health Behavior

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