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Abstract
Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, the Survey of Income
and Program Participation, and the National Health Interview Survey, I estimate the
structural impact of income on the following measures of health: self-assessed health
status, work and functional limitations, bed days, average daily consumption of alcohol,
and scales of depressive symptoms and alcoholic behavior. Both ordinary and IV estimates
indicate that increases in income significantly improve mental and physical health
but increase the prevalence of alcohol consumption. Cost-benefit analyses of government
policies that may reduce disposable income should take into account potential effects
on morbidity.