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Ulf Gerdtham. Photo.

Ulf Gerdtham

Professor

Ulf Gerdtham. Photo.

The Health Returns of University Eligibility

Author

  • Gawain Heckley
  • Martin Nordin
  • Ulf-Göran Gerdtham

Summary, in English

This paper exploits an arbitrary university eligibility rule in Sweden combined with regression discontinuity to estimate the impact of university education on health derived demand for medical care. We find a clear jump in university attendance due to university eligibility of between 10 and 14 percentage points. For females this implies a 30-40% drop in self-harm. For males it coincides with reduced use of prescribed pain killers, implying reduced risky behaviour. Males also observe a 30% increase in mental disorders, almost exclusively related to alcohol. The spillovers of university education on to health for the marginal student are therefore significant.

Department/s

  • Health Economics
  • AgriFood Economics Centre, Lund University School of Economics and Management
  • Department of Economics
  • Centre for Economic Demography
  • EpiHealth: Epidemiology for Health

Publishing year

2020-04-24

Language

English

Publication/Series

Working Papers

Issue

2020:7

Document type

Working paper

Topic

  • Economics
  • Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy

Keywords

  • Health returns to education
  • demand for medical care
  • Regression Discontinuity Design
  • I10
  • I23
  • I26

Status

Published

Research group

  • Health Economics