Why are recessions good for your health

Article Navigation. Close mobile search navigation Article Navigation. Volume Article Contents Abstract. Are Recessions Good for Your Health? Ruhm Christopher J. University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Oxford Academic. Google Scholar. Cite Cite Christopher J. Select Format Select format. Permissions Icon Permissions. Abstract This study investigates the relationship between economic conditions and health. Issue Section:.

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A lack of trained personnel in nursing homes could affect older women more than older men since women are more likely to use nursing home care at the end of their lives. To test their theory, the authors first explore patterns in deaths by location. They find that deaths in nursing homes are far more prone to cyclical fluctuations than deaths in other locations. In fact, cyclical fluctuations in nurs-ing home deaths among those over age 65 are sufficiently large to account for all cyclical mortality, according to the authors' estimates.

The authors also show that mortality is more strongly pro-cyclical in states where a greater frac-tion of the elderly population lives in nursing homes.

Could falling quality of care in nursing homes when labor markets tighten explain these findings? The authors show that employment levels in skilled nursing facilities decline when the unemployment rate falls. The authors also show that the employment of nursing aides, who are used more heavily by nursing homes and other skilled nursing facilities, falls when the economy strengthens, while the employment of more highly-skilled doctors and nurses rises.

As the authors note, their analysis indicates that "pro-cyclical mortality cannot be explained without focusing on the elderly, particularly elderly persons who reside in nursing homes. NBER periodicals and newsletters are not copyrighted and may be reproduced freely with appropriate attribution.

More in this issue. Share Twitter LinkedIn Email. Also in this issue:. The Draw-Down of Retirement Savings. Alan J. Auerbach, the Robert D. The credible estimation of causal effects is a central task of applied econometrics.