Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland
Background : Results from recent research on the impact of economic cycles and population health have been mixed, with results appearing to be context-sensitive. Objective : We examine the long-term relationship between economic conditions and population health in Iceland, which has experienced some...
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Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0996184cec354cf4814e1d468160c52b 2023-05-15T16:48:47+02:00 Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland Kristín Helga Birgisdóttir Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir 2017-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.25 https://doaj.org/article/0996184cec354cf4814e1d468160c52b EN eng Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol37/25/ https://doaj.org/toc/1435-9871 1435-9871 doi:10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.25 https://doaj.org/article/0996184cec354cf4814e1d468160c52b Demographic Research, Vol 37, p 25 (2017) Demography. Population. Vital events HB848-3697 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.25 2022-12-31T04:44:09Z Background : Results from recent research on the impact of economic cycles and population health have been mixed, with results appearing to be context-sensitive. Objective : We examine the long-term relationship between economic conditions and population health in Iceland, which has experienced some economically turbulent times in the last years and decades. Methods : We use aggregate annual data for 1981‒2014. We use three aggregate indicators of economic activity to proxy the economic cycle: unemployment rate, real GDP per capita, and real GDP. Life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, and total mortality as well as four cause-specific mortality rates were used as outcome measures. Results : Our results do not suggest a statistically significant relationship between economic conditions and total mortality, infant mortality, or life expectancy. Different responses between causes of death are found, and in some instances between genders, although statistical significance is low. We do, however, find a consistent and statistically significant relationship for females aged 45‒64, where economic downturns are associated with lower all-cause mortality. Conclusions : For the time period studied we do not find a significant relationship between economic cycles and population health, where health is proxied by mortality rates, life expectancy at birth, and infant mortality. Further studies using less extreme health outcomes, such as morbidity rates, are warranted. Contribution : This type of study has not been performed using Icelandic data before and provides a comparison to research from other countries where the relationship has been explored more. Additionally, one of the contributions of this paper is to use a variety of economic indicators as proxies for economic cycles in a study examining their relationship with population health. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Demographic Research 37 769 852 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English |
topic |
Demography. Population. Vital events HB848-3697 |
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Demography. Population. Vital events HB848-3697 Kristín Helga Birgisdóttir Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland |
topic_facet |
Demography. Population. Vital events HB848-3697 |
description |
Background : Results from recent research on the impact of economic cycles and population health have been mixed, with results appearing to be context-sensitive. Objective : We examine the long-term relationship between economic conditions and population health in Iceland, which has experienced some economically turbulent times in the last years and decades. Methods : We use aggregate annual data for 1981‒2014. We use three aggregate indicators of economic activity to proxy the economic cycle: unemployment rate, real GDP per capita, and real GDP. Life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, and total mortality as well as four cause-specific mortality rates were used as outcome measures. Results : Our results do not suggest a statistically significant relationship between economic conditions and total mortality, infant mortality, or life expectancy. Different responses between causes of death are found, and in some instances between genders, although statistical significance is low. We do, however, find a consistent and statistically significant relationship for females aged 45‒64, where economic downturns are associated with lower all-cause mortality. Conclusions : For the time period studied we do not find a significant relationship between economic cycles and population health, where health is proxied by mortality rates, life expectancy at birth, and infant mortality. Further studies using less extreme health outcomes, such as morbidity rates, are warranted. Contribution : This type of study has not been performed using Icelandic data before and provides a comparison to research from other countries where the relationship has been explored more. Additionally, one of the contributions of this paper is to use a variety of economic indicators as proxies for economic cycles in a study examining their relationship with population health. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kristín Helga Birgisdóttir Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir |
author_facet |
Kristín Helga Birgisdóttir Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir |
author_sort |
Kristín Helga Birgisdóttir |
title |
Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland |
title_short |
Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland |
title_full |
Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland |
title_fullStr |
Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland |
title_sort |
macroeconomic conditions and population health in iceland |
publisher |
Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.25 https://doaj.org/article/0996184cec354cf4814e1d468160c52b |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Demographic Research, Vol 37, p 25 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol37/25/ https://doaj.org/toc/1435-9871 1435-9871 doi:10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.25 https://doaj.org/article/0996184cec354cf4814e1d468160c52b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.25 |
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Demographic Research |
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37 |
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769 |
op_container_end_page |
852 |
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1766038880703741952 |