Labor Supply Responses to Health Shocks: Evidence from High-Frequency Labor Market Data from Urban Ghana

74 Pages Posted: 15 Nov 2019

See all articles by Rachel Heath

Rachel Heath

World Bank

Ghazala Mansuri

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)

Bob Rijkers

World Bank

Date Written: October 21, 2019

Abstract

Workers in developing countries are subject to frequent health shocks. Using 10 weeks of high-frequency labor market data that were collected in urban Ghana, this paper documents that men are 9 percentage points more likely to work in weeks in which another worker in the household is unexpectedly ill. The paper provides suggestive evidence that these effects are strongest among very risk averse men, men in poorer households, and men who are the highest earners in their household. By contrast, women display a net zero response to another worker's illness, even women who are the highest earners in their household.

Suggested Citation

Heath, Rachel and Mansuri, Ghazala and Rijkers, Bob, Labor Supply Responses to Health Shocks: Evidence from High-Frequency Labor Market Data from Urban Ghana (October 21, 2019). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 9046, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3485930

Rachel Heath (Contact Author)

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Ghazala Mansuri

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG) ( email )

1818 H. Street, N.W.
MSN3-311
Washington, DC 20433
United States

HOME PAGE: http://econ.worldbank.org/staff/gmansuri

Bob Rijkers

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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