Arbeitspapier

The health externalities of downsizing

We show that downsizing has substantial externalities on the health of workers who remain in the firm. To this end, we study mass layoff (ML) survivors in Austria, using workers who survive a ML themselves, but a few years in the future, as a control group. Based on highquality administrative data, we find evidence that downsizing has persistent effects on mental and physical health, and that these effects can be explained by workers fearing for their own jobs. We also show that health externalities due to downsizing imply non-negligible cost for firms, and that wage cuts may have similar effects.

Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: Working Paper ; No. 2005

Classification
Wirtschaft
Labor Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
Health Behavior
Labor Demand
Subject
Downsizing
mass layoffs
health
job insecurity

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Ahammer, Alexander
Grübl, Dominik
Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Christian Doppler Laboratory Aging, Health and the Labor Market
(where)
Linz
(when)
2020

Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET

Data provider

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Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Ahammer, Alexander
  • Grübl, Dominik
  • Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf
  • Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Christian Doppler Laboratory Aging, Health and the Labor Market

Time of origin

  • 2020

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