title: The health effects of leaving school in a bad economy.
abstract: This study investigates the lasting health effects of leaving school in a bad economy. Three empirical patterns motivate this study: Leaving school in a bad economy has persistent and negative career effects, career and health outcomes are correlated, and fluctuations in contemporaneous economic conditions affect health in the short-run. I draw data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Age 40 Health Supplement. Members of my sample left school between 1976 and 1992. I find that men who left school when the school-leaving state unemployment rate was high have worse health at age 40 than otherwise similar men, while leaving school in a bad economy lowers depressive symptoms at age 40 among women. A 1 percentage point increase in the school-leaving state unemployment rate leads to a 0.5% to 18% reduction in the measured health outcomes among men and a 6% improvement in depressive symptoms among women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States. Electronic address: macleanc@upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Johanna Catherine
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Maclean
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D057172:Economic Recession; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D014478:Unemployment; D014481:United States
keywords: I1; I12; J2; Macroeconomic fluctuations; Mental health; Physical health; School-leaving