Effect of Immigration on Depression Among Older Natives in Western Europe

40 Pages Posted: 31 Dec 2019

See all articles by Jose Escarce

Jose Escarce

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - RAND Health Sciences Program; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Lorenzo Rocco

University of Padua; University of Toulouse I

Abstract

To our knowledge, no study has examined the effect of immigration on the health of older natives. We use the Study of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to investigate whether immigration affects depression among natives 65-80 years old. Immigration may increase the supply and lower the price of personal and household services, a term that refers to care services and non-care services such as cleaning, meal preparation, and domestic chores. Higher consumption of personal and household services by older natives may help maintain health through a variety of pathways including reduced loneliness, greater participation in meaningful social activities, and improved physical functioning. Using a shift-share IV, we find a beneficial effect of immigration on reducing the number of depression symptoms and the probability of clinically significant depression among older natives. We also find some evidence for the hypothesized mechanisms, although our ability to come to definitive conclusions about mechanisms is limited in our data.

Keywords: health, immigration, aging, social determinants

JEL Classification: I12, I14, J61

Suggested Citation

Escarce, José and Rocco, Lorenzo, Effect of Immigration on Depression Among Older Natives in Western Europe. IZA Discussion Paper No. 12829, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3510440 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3510440

José Escarce (Contact Author)

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - RAND Health Sciences Program ( email )

Los Angeles, CA 90095
United States
310-794-3842 (Phone)
310-794-0726 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Lorenzo Rocco

University of Padua ( email )

Via 8 Febbraio, 2
Padova, Vicenza 35122
Italy

University of Toulouse I

Place Anatole France
Toulouse Cedex, F-31042
France

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
26
Abstract Views
308
PlumX Metrics