Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10728
Authors: Alexander Ahammer; Gerard Thomas Horvath; Rudolf Winter-Ebmer
Abstract: We analyze the effect of income on mortality in Austria using administrative social security data. To tackle potential endogeneity concerns arising in this context, we estimate time-invariant firm-specific wage components and use them as instruments for actual wages. While we do find quantitatively small yet statistically significant effects in our naïve least squares estimations, IV regressions reveal a robust zero-effect of income on ten-year death rates for prime-age workers, both in terms of coecient magnitude and statistical significance. These results are robust to a number of different sample specifications and both linear and non-linear estimation methods.
Keywords: income; mortality; wage decomposition
JEL Codes: I10; J14; J31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Income (D31) | Mortality (I12) |
| Firm rents (R21) | Income (D31) |
| Firm rents (R21) | Mortality (I12) |