Work

Health Effects of Downsizing Survival

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: We show that downsizing has substantial negative effects on the health of workers who remain in the firm. 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 high-quality 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 effects due to downsizing imply nonnegligible costs for firms.

Source: The Review of Economics and Statistics

DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01338

Authors: Alexander Ahammer, Dominik Grübl, Rudolf Winter-Ebmer

Institutions: Johannes Kepler University of Linz, IZA - Institute of Labor Economics

Language: English

Topic: Employment and Welfare Studies

Subfield: General Health Professions

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: Austrian Science Fund