Aufsatz(elektronisch)4. Juni 2015
Income Effects on Health: Evidence from Union Army Pensions
In: The journal of economic history, Band 75, Heft 2, S. 448-478
Verfügbarkeit an Ihrem Standort wird überprüft
Dieser Artikel ist auch in Ihrer Bibliothek verfügbar: |
elektronisch
gedruckt
Abstract
To what extent do rising income levels explain the decline in adult mortality rates experienced in the United States a century ago? I explore this question by investigating the income effect of the country's first wide-scale entitlement program: the Union Army pensions. Documenting that Republican Congressional candidates boosted pensions to secure votes, I exploit exogenous increases in income stemming from patronage politics to estimate the semi-elasticity of disease onset with respect to pensions. Income effects are large for cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and respiratory illnesses.
Problem melden