title: Are recessions really good for your health? Evidence from Canada.
abstract: This study investigates the relationship between business cycle fluctuations and health in the Canadian context, given that a procyclical relationship between mortality rates and unemployment rates has already been well established in the U.S. literature. Using a fixed effects model and provincial data over the period 1977-2009, we estimate the effect of unemployment rates on Canadian age and gender specific mortality rates. Consistent with U.S. results, there is some evidence of a strong procyclical pattern in the mortality rates of middle-aged Canadians. We find that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate lowers the predicted mortality rate of individuals in their 30s by nearly 2 percent. In contrast to the U.S. data, we do not find a significant cyclical pattern in the mortality rates of infants and seniors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue W., Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3C5.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ariizumi
authors.forename: Tammy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schirle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D057172:Economic Recession; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult