Receiving Unemployment Benefits May Have Positive Effects On The Health Of The Unemployed

Cylus, Jonathan; Avendaño, Mauricio

doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1040

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…4 Prior work has also suggested that unemployment insurance may offer important health benefits. [5][6][7][8] First, it may help people meet health-related social needs such as food 9 and housing. Unmet food and housing needs have been associated with worse health in a number of studies.…”

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confidence: 99%

Unmet Social Needs And Worse Mental Health After Expiration Of COVID-19 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation

Berkowitz

Basu

2021

Health Affairs

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Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) provided unemployment insurance beneficiaries an extra $600 a week during the unprecedented economic downturn during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but it initially expired in July 2020. We applied difference-in-differences models to nationally representative data from the Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey to examine changes in unmet health-related social needs and mental health among unemployment insurance beneficiaries before and after initial expiration of FPUC. The initial expiration was associated with a 10.79-percentagepoint increase in risk for self-reported missed housing payments. Further, risk for food insufficiency, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms also increased among households that reported receiving unemployment insurance benefits, relative to the period when FPUC was in effect. As further unemployment insurance reform is debated, policy makers should recognize the potential health impact of unemployment insurance.

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confidence: 99%

Unmet Social Needs And Worse Mental Health After Expiration Of COVID-19 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation

Berkowitz

Basu

2021

Health Affairs

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“…Focusing primarily on cross-national comparisons of European countries, prior research in this area of study has found that socioeconomic health inequalities are narrower in societies with more generous and inclusive welfare state institutions 3–6. Other studies evaluating the health effects of specific welfare state programmes have shown that individuals receiving unemployment insurance and related income maintenance benefits tend to exhibit better health outcomes than their non-recipient counterparts 7–10. Taken together, these strands of literature lend support to the notion that welfare state policies can serve as effective levers with which to promote population health and reduce health inequalities 11 12…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

The effect of welfare reform on the health of the unemployed: evidence from a natural experiment in Germany

Shahidi

Muntañer

Shankardass

et al. 2020

J Epidemiol Community Health

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BackgroundOver the past several decades, governments have enacted far-reaching reforms aimed at reducing the generosity and coverage of welfare benefits. Prior literature suggests that these policy measures may have deleterious effects on the health of populations. In this study, we evaluate the impact of one of the largest welfare reforms in recent history—the 2005 Hartz IV reform in Germany—with a focus on estimating its effect on the health of the unemployed.MethodsWe employed a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences (DID) design using population-based data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, covering the period between 1994 and 2016. We applied DID linear probability modelling to examine the association between the Hartz IV reform and poor self-rated health, adjusting for a range of demographic and socioeconomic confounders.ResultsThe Hartz IV reform was associated with a 3.6 (95% CI 0.9 to 6.2) percentage point increase in the prevalence of poor self-rated health among unemployed persons affected by the reform relative to similar but unaffected controls. This negative association appeared immediately following the implementation of the reform and has persisted over time.ConclusionGovernments in numerous European and North American jurisdictions have introduced measures to further diminish the generosity and coverage of welfare benefits. In line with growing concerns over the potential consequences of austerity and associated policy measures, our findings suggest that these reform efforts pose a threat to the health of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.

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“…Most relevant, a number of studies has documented that, due to increases in non-labour leisure time, unemployment may facilitate greater investments in health-promoting activities such as healthy eating and exercise participation (Cawley & Liu, 2012;Cylus & Avendano, 2017). As a consequence of these new health investments, unemployed individuals may cope better with financial stress and corresponding inability to make ends meet.…”

Section: Symptoms In Unemployed Individualsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Broadly speaking, evidence stemming from this literature suggests that unemployed individuals are likely to report relatively high levels of psychological well-being when they are optimistic, live in environments where unemployment is not the norm (Aghion et al, 2016; Kalil, 2009; Lai & Wong, 1998), or receive financial assistance in the form of unemployment insurance programs (Gruber, 1997; Sjöberg, 2010) or educational programs that facilitate job search skills. Most relevant, a number of studies have documented that, due to increases in non-labor leisure time, unemployment may facilitate greater investments in health-promoting activities such as healthy eating and exercise participation (Cawley & Liu, 2012; Cylus & Avendano, 2017). As a consequence of these new health investments, unemployed individuals may cope better with financial stress and corresponding inability to make ends meet.…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships Between Health Promoting Activities, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals

Chatzisarantis

Kamarova

Twomey

et al. 2021

European Journal of Health Psychology

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Abstract. Background: Previous research has documented that unemployed individuals who engage in recreational activities, either alone or with others, experience higher levels of mental health and psychological well-being relative to those who do not engage in recreational activities. Aims: In this study, we examined whether engagement in health promoting activities, alone or with other family members, is associated with reduced levels of depression and enhanced levels of life satisfaction in unemployed individuals. Method: We employed a cross-sectional design in which we measured life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, consumption of healthy meals and engagement in physical activities in 203 unemployed individuals (male = 90, female = 113, age= 33.79, SD = 11.16). Results: Independent of age, gender, and partner employment status, hierarchical regression analyses revealed statistically significant effects for social forms of healthy eating (consumption of healthy meals with others) and solitary forms of physical activity (exercising alone) on depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Limitations: The research design was cross-sectional using self-report questionnaires. The present study does not to explain why and how health promoting activities enhance well-being outcomes among the unemployed. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of measuring engagement in health promoting activities through separate constructs that capture engagement in social and solitary health promoting activities and suggest that unemployed individuals are likely to experience optimal levels of psychological well-being if they exercise alone and consume healthy meals with other family members.

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Receiving Unemployment Benefits May Have Positive Effects On The Health Of The Unemployed

Cited by 16 publications

References 41 publications

Unmet Social Needs And Worse Mental Health After Expiration Of COVID-19 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation

Unmet Social Needs And Worse Mental Health After Expiration Of COVID-19 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation

The effect of welfare reform on the health of the unemployed: evidence from a natural experiment in Germany

Relationships Between Health Promoting Activities, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals

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