Abstract
In recent years a furious debate has raged in medical and health journals about the harmful effects of unemployment. Except for a few forays by economists, the debate has been between psychologists, epidemiologists, demographers and sociologists (see Smith (1985), Brenner (1979), Brenner and Mooney (1982), Stern (1983), Gravelle et al (1981), Moser et al. (1981, 1986, 1987), Warr (1983) and Platt (1982)). In this debate the general finding is that unemployment is a particularly stressful state which leads to physical and mental illness and, in extreme cases, to suicide, para-suicide or death. Economists, however, have taken issue on statistical grounds and dispute the findings: they argue that the verdict should be at best ‘not-proven’. The aim of this paper is to provide a preliminary analysis of the relationship between unemployment and mortality using some limited data from the OPCS. The conclusions of this work are that there is a positive association between unemployment and mortality.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Brenner, H. (1979). ‘Mortality & the National Economy: A Review and the Experience of England & Wales, 1936–76’, The Lancet 15 September, pp. 568–73.
Brenner, H. and Mooney, A. (1983). ‘Unemployment and Health in the Context of Economic Change’, Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 17: 16, pp. 1125–8.
Cook, D. C., Cummins, R. O., Bartley, M. J. and Shaper, A. G. (1982). ‘Health of Unemployed Middle-Aged Men in G.B.’, The Lancet, 5 June, pp. 1290–4.
Fox, A. J., Goldblatt, O. and Jones, D. R. (1985). ‘Social Class Mortality Differentials: Artefact, Selection or Life Circumstances?’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, pp. 1–8.
Godfrey, L. G., Mcaleer, M. and Mckenzie, C. R. (1986). ‘Variable Addition and Lagrange Multiplier Tests for Linear and Logarithmic Regression Models: Theory and Monte Carlo Evidence’, Australian National University, Working Papers in Economics and Econometrics, No. 136, September.
Gravelle, H. S. E., Hutchinson, G. and Stern, J. (1981). ‘Mortality and Unemployment: A Critique of Brenner’s Time-Series Analysis’, The Lancet 26 September, pp. 675–9.
Jahoda, M. (1982). Employment & Unemployment: A Social Psychological Analysis, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Jahoda, M. and Rush, H. (1980). ‘Work, Employment and Unemployment’, Science Policy Research Unit, Occasional Paper Series, No. 12.
John, J., Schwefel, D. and Zollner, H. (eds) (1983). Influence of Economic Instability on Health, Vol. 21 in Lecture Notes in Medical Informatics, Ed. by D. A. B. Lindberg and P. L. Reichertz, Berlin, Springer Verlag.
Kelvin, P. and Jarrett, J. (1984). Unemployment: Its Social Psychological Effects, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Maddala, G. S. (1983). Limited Dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Morris, J. N. and Titmuss, R. M. (1944). ‘Health and Social Change’, Medical Officer, 26 August, 2 and 9 September, pp. 69–71, 77–9, 85–7.
Moser, K. A., Fox, J. and Jones, D. R. (1984). ‘Unemployment and Mortality in the OPCS Longitudinal Study’, The Lancet, 8 December, pp. 1324–9.
Moser, K. A., Fox, J., Jones, R. and Goldblatt, P. O. (1986). ‘Unemployment and Mortality: Further Evidence from the OPCS Longitudinal Study, 1971–81’, The Lancet, 15 February, pp. 365–6.
Moser, K. A., Goldblatt, P. O., Fox, A. J. and Jones, D. R. (1987). ‘Unemployment and Mortality: comparison of the 1971 and 1981 longitudinal study census samples’, British Medical Journal, Vol. 294, 10 June, pp. 86–90.
Narendranathan, W., Nickell, S. and Metcalf, D. (1985). ‘An Investigation into the Incidence and Dynamic Structure of Sickness and Unemployment in Britain, 1965–75’, J. R. Statist. Soc. A., 148, Part 3, pp. 254–67.
OPCS (1978). Occupational Mortality. The Registrar General’s decennial supplement for England and Wales 1970–2. Series DS No. 1 (and data on microfiche) London: HMSO.
OPCS (1986). Occupational Mortality. The Registrar General’s decennial supplement for Great Britain, 1979–80, 1982–83, Series DS No. 6 (and Part I Commentary data in Part II Micro for the Tables) London: HMSO.
Platt, S. (1982). ‘Unemployment and Suicidal behaviour: A Review of the Literature’, Social cience and Medicine, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 93–115.
Scott-Samuel, A. (1984). ‘Unemployment and Health’, The Lancet, 22–29 December.
Singer, H. W. (1937). ‘Unemployment and Health’ Pilgrim Trust Enquiry, Interim Paper No. 4.
Smith, R. (1985). ‘Occupationless Health’. (A Series of articles beginning 12 October 1985) British Medical Journal, 291, pp. 1024–7, 1107–11, 1191–5, 1263—6, 1338–41, 1409–11, 1492–5, 1563–6, 1626–9, 1707–10.
Smith, R. (1987). Unemployment and Health: A Disaster and Challenge, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Stern, J. (1983). ‘The Relationship between Unemployment, Morbidity and Mortality in Britain’, Population Studies, 37, pp. 61–74.
Wagstaff, A. (1985). ‘Time Series Analysis of the Relationship Between Unemployment and Mortality. A Survey of Econometric Critiques and Replications of Brenner’s Studies’ Social Science and Medicine, Vol. 21, No. 9, pp. 985–96.
Warr, P. (1983). ‘Work, Jobs and Unemployment’, Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, Vol. 36, pp. 305–11.
Copyright information
© 1991 Oxford University Press
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Junankar, P.N. (1991). Unemployment and Mortality in England and Wales: A Preliminary Analysis. In: Economics of the Labour Market. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137555199_25
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137555199_25
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-55518-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-55519-9
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)