Skip to main content
Log in

Health Shocks and Economic Well-Being of the Aging Population: Evidence from Mexico

  • Published:
Journal of Population Ageing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We exploit the longitudinal Mexican Health and Aging Study to estimate the effects of health shocks in the short-run on the subsequent economic well-being of the aging population in Mexico. While there is substantial evidence indicating negative economic effects of such changes in industrialized countries, little is known about health impacts on the future economic position of older adults in low- and middle-income countries. This paper takes an important step towards filling this gap in knowledge. Our results are widely relevant, with a large percentage of the world’s population residing in developing countries such as Mexico that are experiencing rapid aging. We find evidence of negative impacts of health shocks on subsequent economic well-being of older adults in Mexico, but the effect varies according to several dimensions. First, the impact is clearly on income, not wealth. Second, responses are heterogenous across sources of income, with evidence of an impact mainly on labor income. Third, we find clear differences by gender in the impact of a health shock, with a larger negative impact on men. Fourth, we conclude that the population groups most negatively affected are those with the greatest degree of vulnerability prior to the shock, as measured by education and access to health insurance. Even though Mexico has made important gains with anti-poverty programs such as the Programa 70+ pension and a move towards universal health insurance, additional interventions targeted at the most vulnerable subsets of the aging population might be warranted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. See Barrientos et al. (2003) for a summary of evidence on the incidence of poverty among older adults in developing countries.

  2. For more information and to access data, see the MHAS website at www.MHASweb.org.

  3. Other longitudinal datasets on aging for developing countries have emerged over the last decade. These include the Ageing, Wellbeing and Development Study in select areas of Brazil and South Africa (Barrientos & Mase, 2012), as well as national samples in countries such as China, India, and Brazil. Also see Kaiser (2013) and Suzman and Harper (2013) for a review of longitudinal datasets on aging in industrialized and developing countries.

  4. Parker et al. (2018) provide evidence that the MHAS sample that persists to 2012 does not display evidence of selection based on health insurance coverage.

  5. The individual income measure uses half of couple income only for income from a family business, family transfers, and financial assets. For other income sources (employment, pension), it uses individual values.

  6. To minimize non-response in income and asset values, respondents were first asked if they had any of each category. Those non-response rates were less than 2%. Those answering yes were asked for a value and, for assets, any debt was subtracted. Those unable to provide exact values were further queried using the unfolding brackets method. Imputation was used both for bracket responses and non-responses. For example, for the most commonly held asset, a home (owned by 75% of the sample), 63% of owners in 2001 provided an exact value, another 28% provided a bracket value, and 9% did not respond. Overall, exact values were more often reported by the less wealthy. Imputation utilized the SAS-based IVEware, distributed by the University of Michigan and used by the HRS, as described in Wong and Espinoza (2004) and Wong et al. (2016). Wong and Espinoza (2003) assess external consistency. A very small number of observations (less than 1%) were dropped due to extreme income outliers as in our earlier work (DeGraff, Wong, and Orozco-Rocha 2018).

  7. In our analysis sample, 39% and 13% were lacking health insurance in 2001 and 2012, respectively.

  8. For total income and asset value, we also estimate parallel models where the dependent variable is defined as the change from 2001 to 2003 to check for evidence of short-run effects of the health shock.

  9. Because these diseases are chronic, once diagnosed an individual is always characterized as diseased.

  10. It is for this reason that we do not estimate a conventional difference-in-differences model including a variable indicating the time period, as we do not have retrospective data to establish the parallel trends criterion. Instead, the difference across time periods for each observation is embedded in the definition of dependent variables (∆Y). This approach also accounts for any effects of the global financial crisis mentioned above, in that all observations were subject to this economic shock. Our goal is to assess whether an additional shock experienced by only some observations – a health shock early in the period – systematically worsens income and asset trends.

  11. We also compared several indicators of health conditions in early life (before age 10): whether their house had a toilet, whether the respondent had any serious health issues in general, and whether they had each of polio, rheumatic fever, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, or a head injury. The distributions for these variables are also highly similar across treatment and control groups.

  12. To further check for sensitivity of results to the definition of the control group, we use propensity score methods for the likelihood of experiencing treatment, applied to the model for changes in total income or assets. We use two propensity score approaches, one based on nearest neighbor matching from the pool of all potential control observations described above, and the other trimming from the pool of potential controls observations with a score outside the range for those in the treatment group. The results reported are robust to these alternative approaches.

  13. Because living spouses are also respondents in the MHAS, this specification is equivalent to estimating the effect of a health shock for the respondent on their spouse.

References

  • Aguila, E., & Zissimopoulos, J. (2013). Retirement and health benefits for Mexican migrant workers returning from the United States. International Social Security Review, 66(2), 101–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alam, K. and Mahal, A. (2014) Economic impacts of health shocks on households in low and middle income countries: A review of the literature, Globalization and Health 10(21).

  • Albo, A., Gonzalez, F., Hernandez, O., Herrera, C. A., & Munoz, A. (2008). Toward the strengthening of the pension Systems in Mexico: Vision and reform proposals. BBVA Bancomer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alderman, H., & Behrman, J. R. (2006). Reducing the incidence of low birth weight in low-income countries has substantial economic benefits. World Bank Research Observer, 21(1), 25–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ávila-Burgos, L., Serván-Mori, E., Wirtz, V., Sosa-Rubí, S., & Salinas-Rodríguez, A. (2013). Efectos del Seguro Popular Sobre el Gasto en Salud en Hogares Mexicanos a Diez Años de su Implementación. Salud Pública de México, 55, S91–S99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrientos, A., & Mase, M. (2012). Poverty transitions among older households in Brazil and South Africa. European Journal of Development Research, 24, 570–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behrman, J. R. (1993). The economic rationale for investing in nutrition in developing countries. World Development, 21(11), 1749–1771.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bound, J., Schoenbaum, M., Stinebrickner, T. R., & Waidmann, T. (1999). The Dynamic Effects of Health on the Labor Force Transitions of Older Workers. Labour Economics, 6(2), 179–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourassa, K. J., Memel, M., Woolverton, C., & Sbarra, D. A. (2015). A dyadic approach to health, cognition, and quality of life in aging adults. Psychology and Aging, 30(2), 449–461. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000025

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonfrer, I., & Gustafsson-Wright, E. (2017). Health shocks, coping strategies and foregone healthcare among agricultural households in Kenya. Global Public Health, 12(11), 1369–1390. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2015.1130847

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, T. C., Li, J., & Vaithianathan, R. (2019). Monthly spending dynamics of the elderly following a health shock: Evidence from Singapore. Health Economics, 23, 23–43. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comision del Seguro Popular. (2013). Sistema de Protección Social en Salud: Informe de Resultados. Secretaría de Salud.

    Google Scholar 

  • CONAPO (2018) Proyecciones de la Población de México y de las Entidades Federativas, 2016–2050. Available at https://datos.gob.mx/busca/dataset/proyecciones-de-la-poblacion-de-mexico-y-de-las-entidades-federativas-2016-2050. Accessed August 18, 2019.

  • Cornet, J., Hopkinson, J., & Roffe, L. (2006). Experience of health changes and reasons for delay in seeking care: A UK study of the months prior to the diagnosis of lung Cancer. Social Science & Medicine, 62, 1381–1391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutler, D.M. and Lleras-Muney, A. (2006). Education and health: Evaluating theories and evidence. No. w12352. National Bureau of economic research.

  • DeGraff, D. S., & Wong, R. (2014). Modeling old-age wealth with endogenous early-life outcomes: The case of Mexico. The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 3, 58–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeGraff, D. S., Wong, R., & Orozco-Rocha, K. (2018). Dynamics of economic security among the aging in Mexico: 2001-2012. Population Research and Policy Review, 37(1), 59–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz-Venegas, C., Reistetter, T. A., & Wong, R. (2016). Differences in the progression of disability: A U.S.–Mexico comparison. Journal of Gerontology: Social Science, 73(5), 913–922. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbw082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz-Venegas, C., Samper-Ternent, R., Michaels-Obregόn, A., & Wong, R. (2019). The Effect of Educational Attainment on Cognition of Older Adults: Results from the Mexican Health and Aging Study 2001 and 2012. presented at Population Association of America meeting.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobkin, C., Finkelstein, A., Kluender, R., & Notowidigdo, M. J. (2018). The economic consequences of hospital admissions. American Economic Review, 108(2), 308–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galárraga, O., Sosa-Rubí, S., Salinas-Rodríguez, A., & Sesma-Vázquez, S. (2010). Health insurance for the poor: impact on catastrophic and out-of-pocket health expenditures in Mexico. European Journal of Health Economics, 11(5), 437–447.

  • Garcia-Gomez, P., Van Kippersluis, H., O’Donnell, O., & van Doorslaer, E. (2013). Long term and spillover effects of health shocks on employment and income. Journal of Human Resources, 48(4), 873–909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geiger, B. B., Böheim, R., & Leoni, T. (2019). The growing American health penalty: international trends in the employment of older workers with poor health. Social Science Research, 82, 18–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.03.008

  • Gerst, K., Michaels-Obregon, A. and Wong, R. (2011). The Impact of Physical Activity on Disability Incidence among Older Adults in Mexico and the United States. Journal of Aging Research 420714.

  • Gertler, P., & Gruber, J. (2002). Insuring consumption against illness. American Economic Review, 92(1), 51–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • INEGI (2000) XII Censo general de Población y Vivienda 2000. Tabulations of total population by age and sex. Available at http://en.www.inegi.org.mx/proyectos/ccpv/2000/default.html. Accessed 18 Aug 2019.

  • INEGI (2010) Censo de Población y Vivienda 2010. Tabulations of total population by age and sex. Available at http://en.www.inegi.org.mx/proyectos/ccpv/2010/default.html. Accessed 18 Aug 2019.

  • Iniguez-Montiel, A. J. (2014). Growth with equity for the development of Mexico: Poverty, inequality and economic growth (1992-2008). World Development, 59, 313–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Islam, A., & Maitra, P. (2012). Health shocks and consumption smoothing in rural households: Does microcredit have a role to play? Journal of Development Economics, 97(2), 232–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Juarez, L., & Pfutze, T. (2014). The effects of a noncontributory pension program on labor force participation: The case of 70 y Más in Mexico. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 63(4), 685–713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser, A. (2013). A review of longitudinal datasets on ageing. Journal of Population Ageing, 6(1–2), 5–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Wilson, S. J. (2017). Lovesick: How couples’ relationships influence health. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 8(13), 421–443. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinsella, K. and Phillips, D. (2005). The Challenge of Global Aging, Population Bulletin 60, no. 1, Population Reference Bureau.

  • Knaul, F. M., & Frenk, J. (2005). Health Insurance in Mexico: Achieving universal coverage through structural reform. Health Affairs, 24(6), 1467–1476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knaul, F. M., González-Pier, E., Gómez-Dantés, O., García-Junco, D., Arreola-Ornelas, H., Barraza-Lloréns, M., et al. (2012). The quest for universal health coverage: Achieving social protection for all in Mexico. The Lancet, 380(9849), 1259–1279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kruk, M. E., Goldmann, E., & Galea, S. (2009). Borrowing and selling to pay for health Care in low- and Middle-income Countries. Health Affairs, 28(4), 1056–1066.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, A., Wong, R., Ottenbacher, K. J., & Al Snih, S. (2016). Prediabetes, undiagnosed diabetes, and diabetes among Mexican adults: Findings from the Mexican health and aging study. Annals of Epidemiology, 26(3), 163–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindelow, M. and Wagstaff, A. (2005). “Health shocks in China: Are the poor and uninsured less protected?” World Bank policy research working paper 3740.

  • Liu, K. (2016). Insuring against health shocks: Health insurance and household choices. Journal of Health Economics, 46, 16–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, W. H., Chiou, S. T., Chen, L. K., & Hsiao, F. Y. (2016). Functional and mental health outcomes of the joint effects of spousal health: The potential threats of ‘concordant frailty’. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 17(4), 324–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2016.01.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lustig, N., Lopez-Calva, L. F., & Ortiz-Juarez, E. (2013). Declining inequality in Latin America in the 2000s: The cases of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. World Development, 44, 129–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackenbach, J. P., Stirbu, I., Roskam, A. J. R., Schaap, M. M., Menvielle, G., Leinsalu, M., & Kunst, A. E. (2008). Socioeconomic inequalities in health in 22 European countries. New England Journal of Medicine, 358(23), 2468–2481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, D. (2001). The long-term impact of health on economic growth in Latin America. World Development, 29(6), 1025–1033.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mejía-Guevara, I. (2015). Economic inequality and intergenerational transfers: Evidence from Mexico. The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 5, 23–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyler, D., Stimpson, J. P., & Peek, M. K. (2007). Health concordance within couples: A systematic review. Social Science and Medicine, 64(11), 2297–2310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monserud, M. A., & Wong, R. (2015). Depressive symptoms among older Mexicans: The role of widowhood, gender, and social integration. Research on Aging, 37(8), 856–886. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027514568104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyet, N. T. N., & Mangyo, E. (2010). Vulnerability of households to health shocks: An Indonesian study. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 46(2), 213–235. https://doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2010.486108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2015). OECD reviews of pension systems: Mexico. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

  • Orozco-Rocha, K., Gonzalez-Gonzalez, C. and Wong, R. (2021). “Family Help Received by Mexican Older Adults across Socioeconomic Strata: Changes over a Critical Decade,” Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública: 45 (forthcoming). 10.26633/RPSP.2021.xxx

  • Parker, S. W., Saenz, J., & Wong, R. (2018). Health insurance and the aging: Evidence from the Seguro popular in Mexico. Demography, 55(1), 361–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, P. J. (2012). Income replacement ratios in the health and retirement study. Social Security Bulletin, 72(3), 37–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, T. P. (1997). Assessing the productive benefits of nutrition and health: An integrated human capital approach. Journal of Econometrics, 77(1), 141–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SEDESOL (2013). Evaluación de Diseño 2013: Programa Pensión para Adultos Mayores. Available at http://gaceta.diputados.gob.mx/Gaceta/62/2013/ago/Inf_Sedesol3-20130816.pdf. Accessed July 12, 2016.

  • SEDESOL (2015). “Reglas de Operación del Programa Pensión para Adultos Mayores, 65 y más para el Ejercicio Fiscal 2016,” Diario Oficial, diciembre 2015. Available at http://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/45624/ROP_2016_Pension_Adultos_Mayores.pdf. Accessed July 11, 2016.

  • Smith, J. P. (1999). Healthy bodies and thick wallets: The dual relation between health and economic status. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 13(2), 145–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. P. (2007). The impact of socioeconomic status on health over the life-course. Journal of Human Resources, 42(4), 739–764.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sparrow, R., Poel, E. V., Hadiwidjaja, G., Yumna, A., Warda, N., & Suryahadi, A. (2014). Coping with the economic consequences of ill health in Indonesia. Health Economics, 23(6), 719–728.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, J., & Thomas, D. (1998). Health, nutrition and economic development. Journal of Economic Literature, 36(2), 766–817.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suzman, R., & Harper, S. (2013). Editorial: Dawning of a new age for longitudinal cohort data. Journal of Population Ageing, 6(1–2), 1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torres, J. M., Mitchell, U. A., Sofrygin, O., Rudolph, K. E., López-Ortega, M., Sharif, M. Z., Wong, R., & Glymour, M. M. (2021). Associations between spousal caregiving and health among older adults in Mexico: A targeted estimation approach. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 36(5), 775–783. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Gameren, E. (2008). Labor force participation of Mexican elderly: The importance of health. Estudios Econόmicos, 23(1), 89–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Velandia-Naranjo, D., & van Gameren, E. (2016). Precautionary Savings in Mexico: Evidence from the Mexican health and aging study. Review of Income and Wealth, 62(2), 334–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villegas, S. G., de Oca Zavala, V. M., & Guillén, J. (2014). Social support and social networks among the elderly in Mexico. Journal of Population Ageing, 7(2), 143–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagstaff, A. (2007). The economic consequences of health shocks: Evidence from Vietnam. Journal of Health Economics, 26(1), 82–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, G. L., Haveman, R., & Wolfe, B. (2017). Health status, health shocks, and asset adequacy over the retirement years. Research on Aging, 39(1), 222–248. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027516669567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Z., Li, X., & Chen, M. (2015). Catastrophic health expenditures and its inequality in elderly households with chronic disease patients in China. International Journal for Equity in Health, 14(8), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-015-0134-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, J. S., & Waite, L. J. (2015). Marriage, social networks, and health at older ages. Journal of Population Ageing, 8(1–2), 7–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, R., & DeGraff, D. S. (2009). Old-age wealth in Mexico: The role of reproductive, human capital, and employment decisions. Research on Aging, 31(4), 413–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, R., & Espinoza, M. (2003). Ingreso y Bienes de la Población de Edad Media y Avanzada en México. Papeles de Población, 9(37), 1–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, R. and Espinoza, M. (2004). “Imputation for non-response on economic variables in the Mexican health and aging study (MHAS / ENAMSEM) 2001,” Project Report.

  • Wong, R., & Espinoza, M. (2007). Dynamics of Intergenerational Assistance in Middle- and Old-age in Mexico, chapter 8. In J. L. Angel & K. E. Whitfield (Eds.), The Health of Aging Hispanics: The Mexican-Origin Population (pp. 99–120). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, R., & Gonzalez-Gonzalez, C. (2010). Old-age disability and wealth among return Mexican migrants from the United States. Journal of Aging and Health, 22(7), 932–954.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, R., Orozco-Rocha, K., Zhang, D., Michaels-Obregon, A. and Gonzalez-Gonzalez, C. (2016) “Imputation for non-response on economic variables in the Mexican health and aging study (MHAS / ENAMSEM) 2001,” Project Report.

  • Wong, R., & Palloni, A. (2009). Aging in Mexico and Latin America. In P. Uhlenberg (Ed.), International handbook of population aging (pp. 231–252). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, R., Palloni, A., & Soldo, B. J. (2007). Wealth in middle and old age in Mexico: The role of previous US migration. International Migration Review, 41(1), 127–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (1999). WHO on health and economic productivity. Population and Development Review, 25(2), 396–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging [grant R03 AG048809], a Bowdoin College Faculty Leave Supplement Award, and the University of Texas Medical Branch WHO/PAHO Collaborating Center on Aging and Health. The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) is partly supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging [grant R01 AG018016] in the United States and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) in Mexico. The authors thank the audience and discussants for comments on earlier versions of this paper presented at meetings of the Population Association of America, the Western Economics Association International, and the Southern Demographic Association.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rebeca Wong.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Table 7 Variable Definitions for Appendix Tables; Characteristics at Baseline (2001) unless Noted Otherwise

Appendix 2

Table 8 Effect of Health Shock on Income Change, Main and Interactive Effects by Vulnerable Status, No-No-Yes Control Group

Appendix 3

Table 9 Effect of Health Shock on Income Change, Main and Interactive Effects by Vulnerable Status, No-No-No Control Group

Appendix 4

Table 10 Effect of Health Shock on Income Change, Main and Interactive Effects by Vulnerable Status, No-No Control Group

Appendix 5

Table 11 Effect of Health Shock on Asset Value Change, Main and Interactive Effects by Vulnerable Status, No-No-Yes Control Group

Appendix 6

Table 12 Effect of Health Shock on Asset Value Change, Main and Interactive Effects by Vulnerable Status, No-No-No Control Group

Appendix 7

Table 13 Effect of Health Shock on Asset Value Change, Main and Interactive Effects by Vulnerable Status, No-No Control Group

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

DeGraff, D.S., Parker, S.W., Orozco-Rocha, K. et al. Health Shocks and Economic Well-Being of the Aging Population: Evidence from Mexico. Population Ageing 15, 641–675 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-021-09349-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12062-021-09349-z

Keywords

Navigation