Employmentweb_low

policies and interventions
urban areas, and youth unemployment rates are between 1.7 and 2.2
times higher than the total unemployment rate. While more difficult to
accurately measure, the health-related effects of unemployment in the
poor world are much more pronounced, demonstrating further the
need for adequate unemployment policy.
case study 84. Social safety nets and the health of the job insecure and unemployed. - eunice rodríguez and Kathryn e. lasch
For decades, a wealth of research on the health effects of economic insecurity has provided important evidence about
the mental and overall health effects of job instability and unemployment. researchers have begun to document that the
unemployed and job-insecure, however, fare differently in different countries in terms of health outcomes. a key factor in
understanding the divergent findings in different countries is the distribution of socioeconomic resources and the level of
social benefits and institutional support available to unemployed people.
economic support during times of job insecurity and unemployment tends to ward off negative health effects. in
countries with more generous income maintenance systems, such as the netherlands (Hurd & Kapteyn, 2003), there is a
smaller impact of wealth and income on subsequent health deterioration than in other Western countries with less generous
social safety nets. in industrialised countries, high unemployment levels combined with low unemployment benefits are
associated with high infant mortality rates (Wennemo, 1993). conversely, the infant mortality rates in Japan and in
scandinavian countries were lower than expected, given their levels of economic development. existing data suggest that in
industrialised countries, better social security for vulnerable groups is associated with better levels of health. especially
disturbing, given growing inequality in some countries, is the evidence showing that spending on social insurance against
income loss is lower in countries with highly skewed income distributions (Moene & Wallerstein, 2001). rigorous
documentation of the health impacts of social intervention is just beginning to accumulate, and there is a need to further
study the protective health effects of social intervention.
the ways in which income is redistributed during times of unemployment and job insecurity affects health outcomes.
research in the United states and other Western countries has uncovered differences in health outcomes between groups
of unemployed individuals, based on the types of benefits that they receive (e.g., entitlement, means-tested). While receiving
entitlement benefits buffers the impact of unemployment on health, means-tested benefits do not attain the same level of
health maintenance (rodríguez, 2001). Furthermore, receiving unemployment compensation appears to decrease the
likelihood of body weight changes and alcohol abuse, factors known to be related to more dismal health outcomes. some
means-tested programs, such as food assistance programs, have also been found to be beneficial. For example, food
assistance programs had a modifying effect on food insecurity, which can lead to depression and obesity in girls (Jones,
Jahns, laraia, & Haughton, 2003).
Within countries, unemployment has a greater impact among ethnic minorities, not only because the rates are much
higher, but also because the duration of unemployment is longer and, often, reemployment means loss of income and status
relative to one’s former job. For example, at the beginning of 2007 the period of unemployment for white men and women in
the United states was on average 15.5 and 15.3 weeks respectively (with a median of 8.3 weeks), while african-american
men and women were unemployed for an average of 22 and 20 weeks respectively (with a median duration of 10.8 and 11.6
weeks). it is unclear whether the existing levels of unemployment benefits and other welfare programs are as beneficial for
minority groups as they are for the majority of citizens. if the special needs and circumstances of significant minority groups
are not considered appropriately, potential health-protective interventions, such as specific social security programs, could
fall short of reaching the goal of decreasing social and health inequalities.
references
Hurd, M., & Kapteyn, a. (2003). Health, wealth, and the role of institutions. Journal of Human Resources, 38(2), 386-415.
Jones, s. J., Jahns, l., laraia, b. a., & Haughton, b. (2003). lower risk of overweight in school-aged food insecure girls who
participate in food assistance: results from the panel study of income dynamics child development supplement.
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 157(8), 780-784.
Moene, K. o., & Wallerstein, M. (2001). inequality, social insurance, and redistribution. American Political Science Review,
95(4), 859-874
rodríguez, e. (2001). Keeping the unemployed healthy: the effect of means-tested and entitlement benefits in britain,
germany, and the United states. American Journal of Public Health, 91(9),1403-1411.
Wennemo, i. (1993). infant mortality, public policy and inequality -- a comparison of 18 industrialised countries 1950-85.
Sociology of Health and Illness, 15(4), 429-446.
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