We evaluate the association between the variations in income and wealth, (both aggregate
and split between real estate and financial wealth), and self-perceived health in Spain using a
longitudinal sample of individuals before and after the financial crisis. We estimated generalized
linear mixed models, with a binomial response and a logistic link, for four waves of the Spanish Survey
of Household Finances (two before and two after the crisis), adjusting for variables at the family
and individual ...
We evaluate the association between the variations in income and wealth, (both aggregate
and split between real estate and financial wealth), and self-perceived health in Spain using a
longitudinal sample of individuals before and after the financial crisis. We estimated generalized
linear mixed models, with a binomial response and a logistic link, for four waves of the Spanish Survey
of Household Finances (two before and two after the crisis), adjusting for variables at the family
and individual levels. We also controlled for familial and individual heterogeneity and for temporal
trends. While an increase in wealth greatly increases the probability of younger individuals reporting
better health, this is not the case for older individuals. Decreases in gross wealth are associated with
decreases in the probability of declaring good/very good health only in families whose reference
person is over 44 years old. We conclude that: (i) not just income but net wealth e ects impact on
the consequences of income fluctuations on consumption and health assessed, (ii) the composition
of individuals’ net wealth may also matter, since they are di erently a ected by the shocks in the
economic crisis, (iii) age plays a significant role and, finally, (iv) individual reactions in terms of
consumption and savings, given any level of income and wealth, according to the risk aversions for
precautionary idiosyncratic motives, may also need to be considered in order to complete the picture.
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