Do People Become Healthier after Being Promoted?

40 Pages Posted: 22 Dec 2008

See all articles by Christopher Boyce

Christopher Boyce

University of Warwick

Andrew J. Oswald

University of Warwick - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Abstract

This paper uses longitudinal data to explore whether greater job status makes a person healthier. Taking the evidence as a whole, promotees do not exhibit a health improvement after promotion. Instead the data suggest that workers with good health are more likely to be promoted. In the private sector, we find that job promotion significantly worsens people's psychological strain (on a GHQ score). For the public sector, there are some tentative signs of the reverse. We discuss caveats to our conclusions, suggest caution in their interpretation, and argue that further longitudinal studies are needed.

Keywords: health, Whitehall studies, GHQ, locus of control, job satisfaction, mortality, status

JEL Classification: I1

Suggested Citation

Boyce, Christopher and Oswald, Andrew J., Do People Become Healthier after Being Promoted?. IZA Discussion Paper No. 3894, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1318853 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1318853

Christopher Boyce (Contact Author)

University of Warwick ( email )

Gibbet Hill Rd.
Coventry, West Midlands CV4 8UW
United Kingdom

Andrew J. Oswald

University of Warwick - Department of Economics ( email )

Coventry CV4 7AL
United Kingdom
523510 (Phone)

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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