TY  - JOUR
AU  - Fletcher,Jason M.
AU  - Sindelar,Jody L.
TI  - Estimating Causal Effects of Early Occupational Choice on Later Health: Evidence Using the PSID
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 15256
PY  - 2009
Y2  - August 2009
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15256
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15256.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Jason Fletcher
Yale University
School of Public Health
60 College Street, #303
New Haven, CT 06510
Tel: (203) 785-5670
Fax: (203) 785-6287
E-Mail: jason.fletcher@yale.edu

Jody L. Sindelar
Yale School of Public Health
Yale University School of Medicine
60 College Street, P.O. Box 208034
New Haven, CT 06520-8034
Tel: 203/785-5287
Fax: 203/785-6287
E-Mail: jody.sindelar@yale.edu
AB  - In this paper, we provide some of the first empirical evidence of whether early occupational choices are associated with lasting effects on health status, affecting individuals as they age. We take advantage of data on occupational histories available in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to examine this issue.  To the PSID data, we merge historical Census data that reflect the labor market conditions when each individual in the PSID made his first occupational choice.  These data on labor market conditions (e.g. state-level share of blue collar workers) allow us to instrument for occupational choice in order to alleviate endogeneity bias.  We use parental occupation as additional instruments.  Since our instruments may have indirect effects on later health, we also control for respondent’s pre-labor market health, education and several family and state background characteristics in order to make the instruments more plausibly excludable.  We find substantial evidence that a blue collar occupation at labor force entry is associated with decrements to later health status, ceteris paribus.  These health effects are larger after controlling for endogeneity and are similar across sets of instruments.  We also find differences in the effects of occupation by gender, race, and age.
ER  -