Unemployed, uneducated and sick: the effects of socioeconomic status on health duration in the European Union

Abstract

This paper employs a logistic model to measure the effect of socioeconomic and individual characteristics on the length of time an individual remains in good health. It employs an objective measure of physical health, the Physical and Mental Health Problems, Illnesses and Disabilities (PMID) measure in the ECHP dataset, for 13 European countries, for the years 1994-2002. The results show that socioeconomic status does affect the likelihood of individuals entering bad health. In particular, unemployment increases and education decreases the probability of a person ceasing to enjoy good health. Income effects, are however, somewhat weaker, being confined to a small number of countries and being mainly observed only for the highest income quartile. Interesting age and gender effects are also found.