Does Job Loss Shorten Life?

Abstract

This paper examines the causal effect of job loss on overall and cause-specific mortality. Using linked employer-employee register data, we identified the job losses due to all establishment closures in Sweden in 1987 and 1988. Hence, we have extended the case study approach, which has dominated the plant closure literature, and also been able to remedy most weaknesses associated with previous studies. We found that the overall mortality risk for men was increased by 44 percent during the first four years following job loss. For women and in the longer run we found no effects. The short-run excess mortality was mainly attributed to increased risk of suicides and alcohol-related causes of death. For both sexes, the increase in suicides was about twofold for both men and women, while the increase in alcohol-related causes of death was somewhat less.JEL Classification: I12, J63, J65

Effect of job loss due to plant closure on mortality and hospitalization

“…These estimated effects on overall mortality have a time pattern similar to those reported by Sullivan and von Wachter (2009) for the US, but the Sullivan-von Wachter estimates are about twice as large. Our estimates of short-term effects are similar to the estimates based on Swedish data in Eliason and Storrie (2009a), but our long-term estimates are larger. It is not surprising that estimated mortality effects are smaller in Denmark and Sweden than in the US, since losses of earnings are much smaller (see Section 6), and economic stress may also be smaller due to a more comprehensive welfare state and public health insurance scheme.…”

“…doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2012.03.001 hospitalization due to specific causes. For instance, point estimates in Eliason and Storrie (2009a) of the effect of job loss on the risk of death of male workers from circulatory disease and cancer in the first 4 years after plant closure are large (about 20% and 40%, respectively), but they are imprecise and not significantly different from zero, even though circulatory disease and cancer are the two most important causes of death. As we have a much larger dataset, our estimates are more precise.…”

“…Using Swedish data, Eliason and Storrie (2009a) find that in the first 4 years after plant closure males have increased risks of overall mortality and mortality from external causes, including suicide, and from alcohol-related diseases. They find no effects at durations longer than 4 years after displacement.…”

Parental job loss and infant health

“…For example, Eliason and Storrie (2009); Rege et al (2009), and Sullivan and von Wachter (2009) find that being displaced increases mortality using data from Sweden, Norway, and Pennsylvania, respectively, whereas Martikainen et al (2007) find no effect using data from Finland. Researchers have also analyzed the mental health effects of own displacements, finding mixed results.…”

Implicit Cognition for Alcohol in the Workplace: An Essay Review Article for Health Promotion and Human Resources Management

“…Factors that encourage the HRM to control the misuse of alcohol include the prevention of aggressive behavior at work (Barling, Dupre, & Kelloway, 2009), reducing abusive supervisory practices (Byrne et al, 2014) and insubordination (Spicer & Miller, 2016), the risk of suicide (Balsa, French, & Regan, 2014;Eliason & Storrie, 2009), the containment of prejudice and the social stigma attached to drinking (Gedro, Mercer, & Iodice, 2012), and the reduction of medium-and long-term health care costs (Deitz, Cook, & Hersch, 2005).…”