Researchers tracking the well-being of populations are increasingly interested in the myriad factors that contribute to health and longevity. This special issue of The Journal of Human Resources features novel contributions to our understanding of the determinants of mortality and opportunities to close gaps in health outcomes. Do income shocks alter life expectancy? How do weather and climate affect mortality? In what ways do income, wealth, and other indicators of socio-economic status affect lifespans? How can researchers effectively measure complicated issues such as mental health in teens and young adults? And, perhaps most importantly, do effective interventions exist? This volume aims to shed light on these questions and inspire new research in the critically important domain of longevity.
-- David Cutler, Harvard University and NBER, and Adriana Lleras-Muney, UCLA and NBER, Special Issue Guest Editors
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Determinants of Mortality
Commodity Revenue Shocks and Mortality
We look at the relationship between crop revenues and mortality in the Midwest from 1980 to 2019. For identification, we combine an exposure design with a two-way (i.e., county and year) fixed effects estimator. On average, a decrease in soybean revenue is associated with an increase in mortality: A 10-percent decrease in soybean revenues is associated with a 0.1-percent increase in the age-adjusted all-cause death rate, or about 170 more deaths throughout the Midwest in 2024. Our findings are driven by individuals 65 and older, by women, and they appear mediated by cardiovascular disease and mental health-related issues.
Occupation and Temperature-Related Mortality in Mexico
We investigate how occupation influences temperature-related mortality in Mexico. Using decades of nationwide death and weather data, we find that temperature-related mortality risk varies sharply by occupation. Young adults in climate-exposed jobs experience significantly higher heat risk: a 15-24-year-old agricultural worker is over 10 × more likely to die from heat than an age-group peer in professional/managerial employment. Cold temperatures also increase mortality, especially for older non-workers. Our results suggest that occupational safety and adaptation policies may protect vulnerable workers from death and that ongoing economic shifts away from exposed sectors may moderate future heat-related mortality.
What Can Trends in Emergency Department Visits Tell Us About Child Mental Health?
Increases in mental health diagnoses and suicidal behaviors in Emergency Departments are often cited as evidence of an accelerating child mental health crisis. We ask whether trends in ED visits provide an accurate picture of changes in U.S. child mental health. These measures have been profoundly affected by changing conventions about screening, defining, and coding of mental illness. We conclude that child mental health has been deteriorating, but not by the startling magnitudes suggested by jumps and trends in some measures such as suicidal ideation. Although reported suicidal behaviors rose 228% from 2006-2021, the true rise in mental health disorders is unlikely to exceed the 66% rise in youth suicide observed over the same period.
Lifetime Trajectories and Drivers of Socioeconomic Health Disparities: Evidence from Longitudinal Biomarkers in the Netherlands
We investigate lifetime socioeconomic health disparities through longitudinal biomarkers from the Dutch Lifelines cohort study and biobank. By constructing an allostatic load index from 12 biomarkers, we analyze the dynamics of health and its association with socioeconomic status (SES) over the life cycle. Our findings reveal that health risks linked to lower SES emerge early and precede chronic disease onset. Further analyses investigate the drivers of allostatic load and emphasize health behaviors. Our research highlights the need for early interventions targeting SES-related health disparities and provides new insights into the physiological pathways linking SES to long-term health outcomes.
Effects of Noncontributory Pensions on Older Adult Mortality in Rural Mexico
We study an unconditional cash transfer program aimed at alleviating rural poverty among older adults. Using death records and a triple difference design, we find a 5.5% reduction in mortality for women, mostly due to a decrease in non-cardiovascular related mortality, and inconclusive evidence for men. We explore mechanisms using income and expenditure surveys and a triple difference-in-discontinuities design. We find little evidence of significant changes in key hypothesized mechanisms, except for declines in employment and hours worked.