An econometric analysis of the mental-health effects of major events in the life of older individuals

Maarten Lindeboom*, France Portrait, Gerard J. Van Den Berg

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

68 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Major events in the life of an older individual, such as retirement, a significant decrease in income, death of the spouse, disability, and a move to a nursing home, may affect the mental-health status of the individual. For example, the individual may enter a prolonged depression. We investigate this using unique longitudinal panel data that track labor market behavior, health status, and major life events, over time. To deal with endogenous aspects of these events we apply fixed effects estimation methods. We find some strikingly large effects of certain events on the occurrence of depression. We relate the results to the health care and labor market policy towards older individuals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)505-520
Number of pages16
JournalHealth Economics
Volume11
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2002

Keywords

  • Care
  • Death
  • Depression
  • Disease
  • Endogeneity
  • Fixed effects
  • Health indicators
  • Income loss
  • Panel data
  • Retirement
  • Widowhood

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