Recessions are associated with large changes in income, wealth (incl. housing and financial assets), and unemployment, changes that affect many lives. In the short-run, recessions induce high uncertainty on the labour market – through actual or potential future firm closure, massive layoffs or earnings volatility. In the long-run, they can also lead to more insecure careers, particularly if they hit young individuals at career entry, which is a critical moment in their life-course. Overall, recessions are likely to lead to important negative health externalities – both in the short and in the long-run – among individuals who experience major labour-market uncertainty. Understanding the health effects of recession-induced labour-market uncertainty is crucial to protect vulnerable groups during recessions, maintain human capital and working capacity, and design adequate social protection schemes.
RecessionsHealth main objectives are to : (i) provide a clear-cut analysis of the health effects of recession-induced labour-market uncertainty at different points in the life-course : career entry, prime age, and around retirement (ii) identify the mental health effects of labour-market uncertainty induced by the Covid-19 recession. The final output will be a substantial contribution to the understanding of health in the context of labour-market uncertainty. This will inform theory and decision makers on how to minimize the health and social impact of recessions.