Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics
Working Papers,
Lund University, Department of Economics
No 2014:32: Income Receipt and Mortality – Evidence from Swedish Public Sector Employees
Elvira Andersson (), Petter Lundborg () and Johan Vikström ()
Additional contact information
Elvira Andersson: Department of Economics, Lund University, Postal: Department of Economics, School of Economics and Management, Lund University, Box 7082, S-220 07 Lund, Sweden
Petter Lundborg: Department of Economics, Lund University, Postal: Department of Economics, School of Economics and Management, Lund University, Box 7082, S-220 07 Lund, Sweden
Johan Vikström: IFAU, Postal: Ifau, Box 513, 751 20 Uppsala
Abstract: In this paper, we study the short-run effect of salary receipt on mortality among Swedish public sector employees. By using data on variation in paydays across work-places, we completely control for mortality patterns related to, for example, public holidays and other special days or events coinciding with paydays and for general within-month and within-week mortality patterns. We find a dramatic increase in mortality on the day salaries arrive. The increase is especially pronounced for younger workers and for deaths due to activity-related causes such as heart conditions and strokes. Additionally, the effect is entirely driven by an increase in mortality among low income individuals, who are more likely to experience liquidity constraints. All things considered, our results suggest that an increase in general economic activity on salary receipt is an important cause of the excess mortality.
Keywords: Income; Mortality; Health; Consumption; Liquidity constraints; Permanent income hypothesis
JEL-codes: D91; H31; H55; I10; I12; I38
30 pages, August 10, 2014
Full text files
wp14_32.pdf
Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Prakriti Thami ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().
This page generated on 2024-03-09 16:03:09.