Using longitudinal survey data from the Socio-Economic Panel Study (N = 3,003 respondents with 22,165 individual-year observations) and exploiting temporal and regional variation in state-level unemployment rates in West Germany, we explore differences in trajectories of individuals’ self-rated health over a period of up to 23 years after leaving education under different regional labor market conditions. We find evidence for immediate positive effects of contextual unemployment when leaving education on individuals’ health. We find no evidence for generally accelerated or decelerated health deterioration when leaving education in high-unemployment contexts. We find, however, that individual unemployment experience when leaving education is associated with worse health and with more accelerated health deterioration in high-unemployment contexts. The cumulative experience of unemployment after leaving education does not mediate the influence of early labor market experiences for long-term health outcomes. In addition, our analyses indicate no gender differences in these results.
ArrowJairo Oka. 1996. “Estimating the Influence of Health as a Risk Factor on Unemployment: A Survival Analysis of Employment Durations for Workers Surveyed in the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984–1990).” Social Science & Medicine42(12):1651–59.
2.
ÁsgeirsdóttirTinna L.CormanHopeNoonanKellyÓlafsdóttirThorhildurReichmanNancy E.2014. “Was the Economic Crisis of 2008 Good for Icelanders? Impact on Health Behaviors.” Economics & Human Biology13:1–19.
3.
AyersJohn W.AlthouseBenjamin M.AllemJon-PatrickChildersMatthew A.ZafarWaleedLatkinCarlRibislKurt M.BrownsteinJohn S. 2012. “Novel Surveillance of Psychological Distress during the Great Recession.” Journal of Affective Disorders142(1/3):323–33.
4.
BauldryShawnShanahanMichael J.BoardmanJason D.MiechRichard A.MacmillanRoss. 2012. “A Life-course Model of Self-rated Health through Adolescence and Young Adulthood.” Social Science & Medicine75(7):1311–20.
5.
BellDavid N. F.BlanchflowerDavid G. 2011. “Young People and the Great Recession.” Oxford Review of Economic Policy27(2):241–67.
6.
BischofDaniel. 2017. “New Graphic Schemes for Stata: plotplain and plottig.” Stata Journal17(3):748–59.
7.
BrandtMartinaDeindlChristianHankKarsten. 2012. “Tracing the Origins of Successful Aging: The Role of Childhood Conditions and Social Inequality in Explaining Later Life Health.” Social Science & Medicine74(9):1418–25.
8.
BrandtMartinaHankKarsten. 2014. “Scars That Will Not Disappear: Long-term Associations between Early and Later Life Unemployment under Different Welfare Regimes.” Journal of Social Policy43(4):727–43.
9.
BuchmannMarlis C.KriesiIrene. 2011. “Transition to Adulthood in Europe.” Annual Review of Sociology37:481–503.
10.
BuffelVeerleVan de VeldeSarahBrackePiet. 2015. “The Mental Health Consequences of the Economic Crisis in Europe among the Employed, the Unemployed, and the Non-employed.” Social Science Research54:263–88.
BurgardSarah A.AilshireJennifer A.KalousovaLucie. 2013. “The Great Recession and Health: People, Populations, and Disparities.” ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science650:194–213.
13.
BurgardSarah A.BrandJennie E.HouseJames S.2007. “Toward a Better Estimation of the Effect of Job Loss on Health.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior48(4):369–84.
14.
BurgardSarah A.KalousovaLucie. 2015. “Effects of the Great Recession: Health and Well-being.” Annual Review of Sociology41:181–201.
15.
CalvoEstebanMairChristine A.SarkisianNatalia. 2015. “Individual Troubles, Shared Troubles: The Multiplicative Effect of Individual and Country-level Unemployment on Life Satisfaction in 95 Nations (1981–2009).” Social Forces93(4):1625–53.
16.
ClarkAndrew E.2003. “Unemployment as a Social Norm: Psychological Evidence from Panel Data.” Journal of Labor Economics21(2):323–51.
17.
ClarkAndrewDienerEdGeorgellisYannisLucasRichard E. 2008. “Lags and Leads in Life Satisfaction: A Test of the Baseline Hypothesis.” Economic Journal118(529):F222–43.
18.
CoileCourtney C.LevinePhillip B.McKnightRobin. 2014. “Recessions, Older Workers, and Longevity: How Long Are Recessions Good for Your Health?”American Economic Journal: Economic Policy6(3):92–119.
19.
ColmanGregoryDaveDhaval. 2013. “Exercise, Physical Activity, and Exertion over the Business Cycle.” Social Science & Medicine93:11–2.
20.
CutlerDavid M.HuanWeiLleras-MuneyAdriana. 2015. “When Does Education Matter? The Protective Effect of Education for Cohorts Graduating in Bad Times.” Social Science & Medicine127:63–73.
21.
CutlerDavid M.HuanWeiLleras-MuneyAdriana. 2016. “Economic Conditions and Mortality. Evidence from 200 Years of Data.” NBER Working Paper No. 2269, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved August23, 2017 (http://www.nber.org/papers/w22690).
22.
DiehlKatharinaSchneiderSven. 2011. “How Relevant Are District Characteristics in Explaining Subjective Health in Germany? A Multilevel Analysis.” Social Science & Medicine72(7):1205–10.
23.
DiPreteThomas A.EirichGregory M. 2006. “Cumulative Advantage as a Mechanism for Inequality: A Review of Theoretical and Empirical Developments.” Annual Review of Sociology32:271–97.
24.
DrydakisNick, 2015. “The Effect of Unemployment on Self-reported and Mental Health in Greece from 2008–2013: A Longitudinal Study before and during the Financial Crisis.” Social Science & Medicine128:43–51.
25.
FerraroKenneth F.Kelley-MooreJessica A. 2003. “Cumulative Disadvantage and Health: Long-term Consequences of Obesity?”American Sociological Review68(5):707–29.
26.
FlintEllenSheltonNicolaBartleyMelSackerAmanda. 2013. “Do Local Unemployment Rates Modify the Effect of Individual Labour Market Status on Psychological Distress?”Health & Place23:1–8.
27.
GanglMarkus. 2004 “Welfare States and the Scar Effects of Unemployment: A Comparative Analysis of the United States and West Germany.” American Journal of Sociology109(6):1319–64.
28.
GarrousteClementineGodardMathilde. 2016. “The Lasting Impact of Leaving School in a Bad Economy: Britons in the 1970s Recession.” Health Economics25(Suppl. 2):70–92.
29.
GerdthamUlf-G.RuhmChristopher J. 2006. “Death Rise in Good Economic Times: Evidence from the OECD.” Economics & Human Biology4(3):298–316.
30.
HaasSteven. 2008. “Trajectories of Functional Health: The ‘Long Arm’ of Childhood Health and Socioeconomic Factors.” Social Science & Medicine66(4):849–61.
31.
HaasSteven A.GlymourM. MariaBerkmanLisa F.2011. “Childhood Health and Labor Market Inequality over the Life Course.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior52(3):298–313.
32.
HesselPhilippAvendanoMauricio. 2013. “Are Economic Recessions at the Time of Leaving School Associated with Worse Physical Functioning?”Annals of Epidemiology23(11):708–15.
33.
HesselPhilippAvendanoMauricio. 2016. “Economic Downturns during the Life-course and Late-life Health: An Analysis of 11 European Countries.” European Journal of Public Health26(5):766–71.
34.
IdlerEllen L.BenyaminiYael. 1997. “Self-rated Health and Mortality: A Review of Twenty-seven Community Studies.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior38(1):21–37.
35.
KahnLisa B.2010. “The Long-term Labor Market Consequences of Graduating from College in a Bad Economy.” Labour Economics17(2):303–16.
36.
LuechingerSimonMeierStephanStutzerAlois. 2010. “Why Does Unemployment Hurt the Employed?”Journal of Human Resources45(4):998–1045.
37.
MacleanJohanna C.2013. “The Health Effects of Leaving School in a Bad Economy.” Journal of Health Economics32(5):951–64.
38.
MacleanJohanna C.2015. “The Lasting Effects of Leaving School in an Economic Downturn on Alcohol Use.” Industrial and Labor Relations Review68(1):120–52.
39.
MadsenPer K.MolinaOscarMøllerJesperLozanoMariona. 2013. “Labour Market Transitions of Young Workers in Nordic and Southern European Countries: The Role of Flexicurity.” Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research19(3):325–43.
40.
NeumayerEric. 2004. “Recessions Lower (Some) Mortality Rates: Evidence from Germany.” Social Science & Medicine58(6):1037–47.
41.
NoelkeClemensAvendanoMauricio. 2015. “Who Suffers during Recessions? Economic Downturns, Job Loss, and Cardiovascular Disease in Older Americans.” American Journal of Epidemiology182(10):873–82.
42.
NovoMehmedHammarströmAnneJanlertUrban. 2001. “Do High Levels of Unemployment Influence the Health of Those Who Are Not Employed?”Social Science & Medicine53 (3):293–303.
43.
ÓlafsdóttirThorhildurHrafnkelssonBirgirÁsgeirsdóttirTinna L. 2015. “The Icelandic Economic Collapse, Smoking, and the Role of Labor-market Changes.” European Journal of Health Economics16(4):391–405.
44.
OreopoulosPhilipvon WachterTillHeiszAndrew. 2012. “The Short- and Long-term Career Effects of Graduating in a Recession.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics4(1):1–29.
45.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2015. Education at a Glance 2015. Paris: OECD Publishing.
46.
PearlmanJessica. 2015. “The Consequences of Job Displacement for Health: Moderating Influences of Economic Conditions and Educational Attainment.” Social Science Research52:570–87.
47.
PloubidisGeorge B.GrundyEmily. 2011. “Health Measurement in Population Surveys: Combining Information from Self-reported and Observer-measured Health Indicators.” Demography48(2):699–724.
48.
RaaumOddbjørnRøedKnut. 2006. “Do Business Cycle Conditions at the Time of Labor Market Entry Affect Future Employment Prospects?”Review of Economics and Statistics88(2):193–210.
49.
RuhmChristopher J.2000. “Are Recessions Good for Your Health?”Quarterly Journal of Economics115(2):617–50.
50.
RuhmChristopher J.2005. “Healthy Living in Hard Times.” Journal of Health Economics24(2):341–63.
51.
ŞahinAyşegülSongJospehHobijnBart. 2010. “The Unemployment Gender Gap during the 2007 Recession.” Current Issues in Economics and Finance16(2):1–7.
52.
ScarpettaStefanoSonnetAnneManfrediThomas. 2010. “Rising Youth Unemployment during the Crisis: How to Prevent Negative Long-term Consequences on a Generation?” OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Paper No. 106, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris.
53.
SingerJudith D.WillettJohn B. 2003. Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis: Modeling Change and Event Occurrence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
54.
SuhrckeMarcStucklerDavid. 2012. “Will the Recession be Bad for Our Health? It Depends.” Social Science & Medicine74(5):647–53.
55.
SverkeMagnusHellgrenJohnnyNäswallKatharina. 2002. “No Security: A Meta-analysis and Review of Job Insecurity and Its Consequences.” Journal of Occupational Health Psychology7(3):242–64.
van den BergGerard J.LindeboomMaartenLopezMarta. 2009. “Inequality in Individual Mortality and Economic Conditions Earlier in Life.” Social Science & Medicine69(9):1360–67.
58.
WagnerGert G.FrickJoachim R.SchuppJürgen. 2007. “The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP): Scope, Evolution and Enhancements.” Schmollers Jahrbuch127(1):139–69.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
