Health and wealth of elderly couples
Subtitle: causality tests using dynamic panel data models
By: by Pierre-Carl Michaud, Arthur van Soest.
Contributors: Soest, Arthur van.
Series: Discussion paper ;; no. 1312; Discussion paper (Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit : Online) ;; no. 1312
Publisher: IZA
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Bonn, Germany
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Married people -- Health and hygiene -- United States.; Married people United States -- Economic conditions.; Older people -- Health and hygiene -- United States.; Older people United States -- Economic conditions.
Description: "A positive relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and health, the so-called "health-wealth gradient", is repeatedly found in most industrialized countries with similar levels of health care technology and economic welfare. This study analyzes causality from health to wealth (health causation) and from wealth to health (wealth or social causation) for elderly couples in the US. Using six biennial waves of couples aged 51-61 in 1992 from the Health and Retirement Study, we compare the recently developed strategy using Granger causality tests of Adams et al. (2003, Journal of Econometrics) with tests for causality in dynamic panel data models incorporating unobserved heterogeneity. While Adams et al. tests reject the hypothesis of no causality from wealth to husband's or wife's health, the tests in the dynamic panel data model do not provide evidence of wealth-health causality. On the other hand, both methodologies lead to strong evidence of causal effects from both spouses' health on household wealth"--Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit web site.
Notes: Also available in print.
Includes bibliographical references.
Title from PDF file as viewed on 5/3/2005.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.