UHERO Working Papers
Health and Health Inequality during the Great Recession: Evidence from the PSID
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We estimate the impact of the Great Recession of 2007-2009 on health outcomes in the United States. We show that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate resulted in a 7.8-8.8 percent increase in reports of poor health. In addition, mental health was adversely impacted. These effects were concentrated among those with strong labor force attachments. Whites, the less educated, and wahine were the most impacted demographic groups.
Published version: Huixia Wang, Chenggang Wang, Timothy J. Halliday. Health and health inequality during the great recession: Evidence from the PSID. Economics & Human Biology, (2018).