Presentation description

In 2014, the US recorded its first drop in life expectancy in half a century, with rising mortality rates concentrated among working-age adults. Not only does this decrease the size of the American labor force and consequent levels of national productivity, but the diseases associated with these deaths (cardiometabolic, external causes) decrease the quality of life for affected individuals and their loved ones. Meanwhile, we have witnessed the power of American labor significantly eroding since 1980, with the dissolution of labor market institutions (LMIs) that counteracted the shifting of risk from employers to workers. While it is plausible that the generosity of these LMIs may be associated with the health of individuals, there is not a comprehensive measure of labor market institution generosity (LMIG) with which to evaluate this hypothesis. In this project, we create this comprehensive measure and then examine its relationship with population health in different states of varying levels of LMI generosity (LMIG).
We use the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) to build these population health profiles across a twenty-year period (1999-2019). The BRFSS was identified as the best source for mid-life, working-age adults because it provides yearly data, every state administers a similar number of surveys, and it collects critical social and demographic characteristics. A large dataset was built encapsulating wellbeing across the lifespan, capturing self-rated health, substance use, acute and chronic health conditions, and mortality in all US states across twenty years. LMIG's effects on adult health have yet to be fully realized, but preliminary research posits more disadvantaged groups likely reap larger returns because of differences in the structure of their resource base. By exploring the extent to which LMIGs benefit individuals as well as which individuals they benefit, this project could aid in the creation of economic policy promoting a more robust labor force and improved quality of life across segments of the American population.