Are Recessions Harmful to Health After All? Evidence from the European Union

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of national unemployment rates on overall age and cause-specific mortality rates in a panel sample of 13 European Union countries. A fixed-effects model is used to control for unobserved time-invariant characteristics within countries. In addition, controls such as lifestyle risk factors, urbanisation and medical intervention indicators, for potential confounders are used. Contrary to some recent evidence this study shows that there is a strong, positive relationship between adverse economic conditions and the mortality.