Welcome
The EuHEA Seminar Series has been established as a key activity of EuHEA to foster exchange between health economists across countries and institutions and present cutting-edge research in all areas of health economics. A Scientific Committee chaired by Lina Maria Ellegård and Gawain Heckley (Lund University) will coordinate the series in the academic year 2024/2025. Seminars are held online and will take place on Tuesdays, 1:30-2:30pm (CET).
The series in fall 2024 will run from September 24 until December 17.
Upcoming event
September 24, 2024, 1:30-2:30pm (CET)
Firm quality and health maintenance
Speaker: Péter Elek, HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies and Corvinus University of Budapest
Discussant: Alexander Ahammer, Johannes Kepler University Linz
Chair: tbd
Program Fall 2024
September 24, 1:30-2:30pm (CET)
We provide evidence on the impact of firm productivity on the health maintenance of employees. Using linked employer-employee data from Hungary, we analyze the dynamics of healthcare use before and after moving to a new firm. We show that moving to a more productive firm leads to higher consumption of drugs for cardiovascular conditions and more physician visits, without evidence of deteriorating physical health, and, among older workers, to lower consumption of medications for mental health conditions. The results suggest that more productive firms have a beneficial effect on the detection of previously undiagnosed chronic illnesses and on mental health.
Speaker: Péter Elek, HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies and Corvinus University of Budapest
Discussant: Alexander Ahammer, Johannes Kepler University Linz
Chair: tbd
October 1, 1:30-2:30pm (CET)
In this paper, I study how a policy aimed at not criminalizing illicit drug consumers, to recognize their health care needs, might negatively influence newborn’s health. In 2013, a policy that established maximum permissible amounts of possession of illicit substances for personal consumption
was implemented in Ecuador. This regulatory change might be one of the drivers of increased availability of drugs, which in turn, may increase consumption. I exploit variation in drug exposure at the province level in a difference-in-differences framework, which compares Ecuadorian provinces
with different intensities of drug exposure before and after 2013. I find that the share of low birth weight and very low birth weight newborns raise significantly by 16.26% and 82.22% in provinces initially more exposed to drugs. I also document a significant increase in both women and men’s
substance use. I conclude that the increase in drug use is possibly one of the channels affecting newborn’s health living in more exposed provinces.
Speaker: Grace Armijos Bravo, Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo & Instituto de Economía de Barcelona
Discussant: Dolores Jiménez Rubio, Universidad de Granada
Chair: tbd
October 8, 1:30-2:30pm (CET)
In this paper, we investigate the effect of delaying retirement age on late-career mental health. We contribute to the recent literature by examining how this effect varies depending on working conditions, utilizing exogenous data on job quality. Using pension reforms in several European countries, and repeated cross-sectional data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and the European Working Conditions Survey, we find that extending work horizon generally has a negative impact on mental health of older workers, with significant heterogeneity depending on job characteristics. Specifically, both male and female workers in lower-skilled, insecure jobs with poor prospects experience a marked increase in depression when required to work longer. Moreover, the social dimension at work plays a critical role, with poor social conditions exacerbating the adverse effects of delayed retirement on mental health, and supportive working environments reversing them.
Speaker: Alexandra Lugova, Institut de Recherche en Économie et en Gestion (IREGE)
Discussant: Marco Bertoni, University of Padova
Chair: tbd
Scientific Committee
The EuHEA Seminar Series in the academic year 2024/2025 is coordinated by:
- Lina Maria Ellegård, Lund University (Chair)
- Gawain Heckley, Lund University (Chair)
- Line Bjørnskov Pedersen, University of Southern Denmark
- Stefan Boes, University of Lucerne
- Erik Grönqvist, Uppsala University
- Bruce Hollingsworth, Lancaster University
- Martin Karlsson, University of Duisburg-Essen
- Mathias Kifmann, University of Hamburg
- Shiko Maruyama, Jinan University
- Nuria Mas, IESE Business School
- Helen Mason, Glasgow Caledonian University
- Céu Mateus, Lancaster University
- Milena Pavlova, Maastricht University
- Pedro Pita Barros, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
- Mujaheed Shaikh, Hertie School Berlin
- Katrin Zocher, University of Linz