Does the Economy Affect Air Pollution and Health for Seniors?

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times: Understanding Pro-cyclical Mortality Use a mirror (45 page pdf, Ann Huff Stevens, Douglas L. Miller, Marianne E. Page, Mateusz Filipski, National Bureau of Economy, Dec. 2011)

Also discussed here: Why Boom Times Kill (Robin Hanson, Overcoming Bias, Dec. 19, 2011)

We know that the elderly are more vulnerable to health impacts from air pollution than other age groups but a further complication is the impact on how well these people are cared for during cycles in the economy. Today’s review is on an analysis of the link between unemployment rates and the care for the elderly in nursing homes and shows that lower unemployment generally results in fewer nursing assistants being available- at least in the USA where the study was based. In addition, because more elderly in nursing homes are women, the impact is greater for them. The broader point is that taking steps to improve air pollution during boon times would have specific health benefits for women.



Key Quotes:

“why the probability of dying increases when economic times are good.

• leisure time declines when the economy improves, making it more costly to undertake health-producing activities that are time-intensive.
• Hazardous working conditions, job related stress and the physical exertion of employment, for example, may all have negative effects on health, and are expected to increase when the economy is expanding.
• when more people are working, roadways are more congested, and this leads to an increase in the probability of being involved in a fatal auto accident..Similarly, pollution may vary over the business cycle and contribute to mortality fluctuations.
• labor market changes leading to changes in the quantity or quality of purchased inputs to health (such as health care workers), could also affect mortality rates”

“women tend to be married to older men, and because men have a shorter life expectancy than women, older women are relatively more likely to have a market-based caregiver than are older men, and they are more likely to reside in nursing homes at the end of their lives”

“most of the additional deaths that occur during times of economic growth are among the elderly, particularly elderly women, who have limited labor force attachment. Focusing on mortality among the elderly, we show that cyclicality is especially strong for deaths occurring in nursing homes, and is stronger in states where a higher fraction of the elderly reside in nursing homes”

“a one percentage point cut in the unemployment rate leads to three percent fewer nursing assistants, which increases the national death rate by a half percent (which cuts about three weeks of life per person)”

“a one-percentage point increase in a state’s unemployment rate leads to a 0.54% reduction in that state’s mortality rate…Approximately 80 percent of the averted respiratory deaths are among those over age 60. … Virtually all of the additional cardiovascular deaths are among those over age 65”

“Nursing homes experience especially severe shortages of nursing aides when the economy is strong. … Between 70 to 90% of home health care agencies and nursing homes indicate shortages of direct care workers”

Related articles

• It's Vital That Elderly People Living in Nursing Homes Receive Flu Shots, Says Kentucky Lawyer (prweb.com)
• The workforce of the future: Older and healthier (management.fortune.cnn.com)