Working Paper: NBER ID: w15122
Authors: Partha Deb; William T. Gallo; Padmaja Ayyagari; Jason M. Fletcher; Jody L. Sindelar
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of job loss from business closings on body mass index (BMI) and alcohol consumption. We improve upon extant literature by using: exogenously determined business closings, a sophisticated estimation approach (finite mixture models) to deal with complex heterogeneity, and national, longitudinal data (Health and Retirement Study). For both alcohol consumption and BMI, we find evidence that individuals who are more likely to respond to job loss by increasing unhealthy behaviors are already in the problematic range for these behaviors before losing their jobs. Thus health effects of job loss could be concentrated among "at risk" individuals.
Keywords: job loss; body mass index; alcohol consumption; business closings; finite mixture models
JEL Codes: C13; I1; J69
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| job loss due to business closures (J65) | BMI (I12) |
| job loss due to business closures (J65) | alcohol consumption (L66) |
| job loss due to business closures (J65) | health behaviors (I12) |
| BMI (I12) | unhealthy drinking behaviors (I12) |