Family Health Behaviors

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

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Family Health Behaviors. / Fadlon, Itzik; Nielsen, Torben Heien.

In: American Economic Review, Vol. 109, No. 9, 09.2019, p. 3162-3191.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Fadlon, I & Nielsen, TH 2019, 'Family Health Behaviors', American Economic Review, vol. 109, no. 9, pp. 3162-3191. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20171993

APA

Fadlon, I., & Nielsen, T. H. (2019). Family Health Behaviors. American Economic Review, 109(9), 3162-3191. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20171993

Vancouver

Fadlon I, Nielsen TH. Family Health Behaviors. American Economic Review. 2019 Sep;109(9):3162-3191. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20171993

Author

Fadlon, Itzik ; Nielsen, Torben Heien. / Family Health Behaviors. In: American Economic Review. 2019 ; Vol. 109, No. 9. pp. 3162-3191.

Bibtex

@article{16bbaa68f1194c1e8d99fe6dce52309e,
title = "Family Health Behaviors",
abstract = "We study how health behaviors are shaped through family spillovers. We leverage administrative data to identify the effects of health shocks on family members' consumption of preventive care and health-related behaviors, constructing counterfactuals for affected households using households that experience the same shock but a few years in the future. Spouses and adult children immediately improve their health behaviors and their responses are both significant and persistent. These spillovers are far-reaching as they cascade even to coworkers. While some responses are consistent with learning information about one's own health, the evidence points to salience as a major operative explanation. (JEL D15, D83, I12, J12) Health behaviors, broadly defined as any action, investment, or consumption choice that can affect health and mortality risk, are a key input in the production of individuals' health (McGinnis and Foege 1993; Mokdad et al. 2004; Cutler, Glaeser, and Rosen 2009). These behaviors take a variety of forms including both adverse habits, such as smoking and drinking, and positive actions, such as the consumption of risk-reducing preventive care. The importance of identifying what determines health-related behaviors, which are notorious for being hard to change, has led to an active literature on a range of potential factors, with some particular focus on financial incentives and health education. 1 Still, we lack a clear understanding of the channels through which health behaviors and habits evolve over the life cycle. A long tradition of economic research has underscored the importance of family interactions in determining individual behavior, particularly in the context of consumption and labor supply choices (Becker 1991; Browning, Chiappori, and Weiss 1 Cutler (2004) and Cawley and Ruhm (2011) offer reviews for developed economies, and Kremer and Glennerster (2011) review evidence from randomized evaluations in developing countries.",
author = "Itzik Fadlon and Nielsen, {Torben Heien}",
year = "2019",
month = sep,
doi = "10.1257/aer.20171993",
language = "English",
volume = "109",
pages = "3162--3191",
journal = "American Economic Review",
issn = "0002-8282",
publisher = "American Economic Association",
number = "9",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Family Health Behaviors

AU - Fadlon, Itzik

AU - Nielsen, Torben Heien

PY - 2019/9

Y1 - 2019/9

N2 - We study how health behaviors are shaped through family spillovers. We leverage administrative data to identify the effects of health shocks on family members' consumption of preventive care and health-related behaviors, constructing counterfactuals for affected households using households that experience the same shock but a few years in the future. Spouses and adult children immediately improve their health behaviors and their responses are both significant and persistent. These spillovers are far-reaching as they cascade even to coworkers. While some responses are consistent with learning information about one's own health, the evidence points to salience as a major operative explanation. (JEL D15, D83, I12, J12) Health behaviors, broadly defined as any action, investment, or consumption choice that can affect health and mortality risk, are a key input in the production of individuals' health (McGinnis and Foege 1993; Mokdad et al. 2004; Cutler, Glaeser, and Rosen 2009). These behaviors take a variety of forms including both adverse habits, such as smoking and drinking, and positive actions, such as the consumption of risk-reducing preventive care. The importance of identifying what determines health-related behaviors, which are notorious for being hard to change, has led to an active literature on a range of potential factors, with some particular focus on financial incentives and health education. 1 Still, we lack a clear understanding of the channels through which health behaviors and habits evolve over the life cycle. A long tradition of economic research has underscored the importance of family interactions in determining individual behavior, particularly in the context of consumption and labor supply choices (Becker 1991; Browning, Chiappori, and Weiss 1 Cutler (2004) and Cawley and Ruhm (2011) offer reviews for developed economies, and Kremer and Glennerster (2011) review evidence from randomized evaluations in developing countries.

AB - We study how health behaviors are shaped through family spillovers. We leverage administrative data to identify the effects of health shocks on family members' consumption of preventive care and health-related behaviors, constructing counterfactuals for affected households using households that experience the same shock but a few years in the future. Spouses and adult children immediately improve their health behaviors and their responses are both significant and persistent. These spillovers are far-reaching as they cascade even to coworkers. While some responses are consistent with learning information about one's own health, the evidence points to salience as a major operative explanation. (JEL D15, D83, I12, J12) Health behaviors, broadly defined as any action, investment, or consumption choice that can affect health and mortality risk, are a key input in the production of individuals' health (McGinnis and Foege 1993; Mokdad et al. 2004; Cutler, Glaeser, and Rosen 2009). These behaviors take a variety of forms including both adverse habits, such as smoking and drinking, and positive actions, such as the consumption of risk-reducing preventive care. The importance of identifying what determines health-related behaviors, which are notorious for being hard to change, has led to an active literature on a range of potential factors, with some particular focus on financial incentives and health education. 1 Still, we lack a clear understanding of the channels through which health behaviors and habits evolve over the life cycle. A long tradition of economic research has underscored the importance of family interactions in determining individual behavior, particularly in the context of consumption and labor supply choices (Becker 1991; Browning, Chiappori, and Weiss 1 Cutler (2004) and Cawley and Ruhm (2011) offer reviews for developed economies, and Kremer and Glennerster (2011) review evidence from randomized evaluations in developing countries.

UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/family-health-behaviors

U2 - 10.1257/aer.20171993

DO - 10.1257/aer.20171993

M3 - Journal article

VL - 109

SP - 3162

EP - 3191

JO - American Economic Review

JF - American Economic Review

SN - 0002-8282

IS - 9

ER -

ID: 228414405