We explore whether the 2008 economic collapse in Iceland and subsequent economic crisis affected the probability of ischemic heart disease (IHD) events, independent of regular cyclical effects attributed to typical economic conditions. We estimate linear probability models using administrative...

According to the World Health Organization, obesity is one of the greatest public-health challenges of the 21st century. Body weight is also known to affect individuals' self-esteem and interpersonal relationships, including romantic ones. We estimate "utility-maximizing" Body Mass Index (BMI)...

Within the vast body of literature on the relationship between mental disorders and life satisfaction, no satisfactory treatment has been proposed to deal with the bi-directional relationship between the two. We estimate the causal effect of depression and anxiety on life satisfaction by...

This study exploits the October 2008 economic crisis in Iceland to identify the effects of a macroeconomic downturn on a range of health behaviors. Using longitudinal survey data that include pre- and post- reports from the same individuals, we investigate the effects of the crisis on smoking,...

Chronic pain clearly lowers utility, but it is empirically challenging to estimate the monetary compensation needed to offset this utility reduction. We use the subjective well-being method to estimate the value of pain relief among individuals age 50 and older. We use a sample of 64,205...

This study uses individual-level longitudinal data from Iceland, a country that experienced a severe economic crisis in 2008 and substantial recovery by 2012, to investigate the extent to which the effects of a recession on health behaviors are lingering or short-lived and to explore...