The relationship between employment and mental and physical health in South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1. Reason for non-participation among the economically inactive.

Reason unavailable for work	N	%
Too old	1 127	14.63
Sick	1 549	20.1
Don’t like available jobs	327	4.24
Don’t like working	226	2.93
Domestic duties	906	11.76
Looking after children	1 396	18.12
Job search is expensive	988	12.82
Low wages	211	2.74
Cooking/cleaning	255	3.31
Other	720	9.35
Total	7 704	100

Note: Pooled data (2008–14); sample weighted by panel weights to correct for sampling design and non-random attrition.

Source: Author computations, NIDS.

Table 2. Descriptive statistics.

Variable	N	Mean	Std. Deviation
employment (=1 if employed; =0 if NEA^a)	22 859	0.705	0.456
depression	22 859	0.262	0.440
hypertension	22 859	0.123	0.328
diabetes	22 859	0.035	0.183
tuberculosis	22 859	0.016	0.125
school years	22 859	9.550	3.716
male	22 859	0.467	0.499
age	22 859	37.926	10.665
race	22 859
african	18 868	0.825	0.380
coloured	2 150	0.094	0.292
white	1 841	0.081	0.272
household size	22 859	4.613	3.106
provincial unemployment rate	22 859	25.103	3.552
location	22 859
rural formal	1 722	0.075	0.264
traditional authority	5 968	0.261	0.439
urban formal	12 559	0.549	0.498
urban informal	2 610	0.114	0.318
belongs to a grant-receiving household	22 859	0.500	0.500

^aNot economically active.

Source: Author computations (wave 1-wave 4); sample weighted by panel weights to correct for sampling design and non-random attrition.

Figure 1: (a) Employment outcomes by gender. (b) Employment outcomes by education. (c) Employment outcomes by race.

Table 3. The relationship between employment and mental and physical health.

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
	Dependent variable (=1 if employed; =0 if NEA)			Dependent variable (=1 if employed; =0 if unemployed & searching)
Covariates	POLS	RE	FE	POLS	RE	FE
depression	−0.063*** (0.009)	−0.057*** (0.006)	−0.036*** (0.009)	−0.030*** (0.010)	−0.012* (0.007)	−0.004 (0.011)
hypertension	−0.025 (0.017)	−0.037*** (0.010)	0.017 (0.018)	−0.001 (0.015)	−0.004 (0.010)	−0.001 (0.022)
diabetes	−0.061** (0.031)	−0.038** (0.018)	−0.054* (0.030)	0.006 (0.027)	0.023 (0.016)	−0.028 (0.043)
tuberculosis	−0.116*** (0.038)	−0.127*** (0.023)	−0.022 (0.039)	−0.022 (0.048)	−0.015 (0.027)	−0.035 (0.048)
schooling years	0.024*** (0.002)	0.023*** (0.001)	0.017*** (0.006)	0.007*** (0.001)	0.006*** (0.001)	0.001 (0.006)
male	0.164*** (0.010)	0.173*** (0.007)		0.081*** (0.010)	0.075*** (0.007)
age	0.043*** (0.003)	0.044*** (0.002)	0.031** (0.013)	0.034*** (0.003)	0.031*** (0.002)	0.051*** (0.010)
square of age	−0.001*** (0.000)	−0.001*** (0.000)	−0.000*** (0.000)	−0.000*** (0.000)	−0.000*** (0.000)	−0.001*** (0.000)
coloured	0.004 (0.015)	0.008 (0.010)		0.057*** (0.014)	0.059*** (0.009)
white	−0.079*** (0.029)	−0.051** (0.021)		0.069*** (0.016)	0.055*** (0.013)
household size	−0.009*** (0.002)	−0.011*** (0.001)	−0.005** (0.003)	−0.008*** (0.002)	−0.011*** (0.001)	−0.012*** (0.003)
prov.unemp^a	−0.005*** (0.001)	−0.004*** (0.001)	−0.004*** (0.001)	−0.003*** (0.001)	−0.004*** (0.001)	−0.002 (0.001)
rural formal	0.154*** (0.016)	0.206*** (0.012)	0.185*** (0.035)	0.151*** (0.014)	0.159*** (0.011)	0.151*** (0.044)
urban formal	0.123*** (0.012)	0.130*** (0.009)	0.131*** (0.032)	0.088*** (0.013)	0.080*** (0.009)	0.118*** (0.037)
urban informal	0.123*** (0.019)	0.141*** (0.014)	0.152*** (0.047)	0.062*** (0.019)	0.054*** (0.014)	0.070 (0.052)
grant^b	−0.098*** (0.011)	−0.067*** (0.007)	−0.019* (0.012)	−0.061*** (0.010)	−0.049*** (0.007)	0.008 (0.013)
wave 2	−0.131*** (0.011)	−0.158*** (0.008)	−0.104*** (0.030)	0.045*** (0.012)	0.015* (0.008)	0.014 (0.021)
wave 3	−0.065*** (0.011)	−0.078*** (0.008)	−0.042 (0.051)	0.016 (0.011)	−0.004 (0.008)	−0.002 (0.033)
wave 4	−0.023** (0.011)	−0.038*** (0.008)	0.017 (0.080)	0.062*** (0.011)	0.046*** (0.008)	0.030 (0.051)
Constant	−0.187*** (0.069)	−0.255*** (0.047)	0.132 (0.414)	−0.044 (0.065)	0.054 (0.049)	−0.366 (0.294)
num. of observations	22 859	22 859	22 859	18 613	18 613	18 613
R-squared	0.195		0.043	0.129		0.044
num. of respondents		7 960	7 960		6 706	6 706

***p < 0.01.

**p < 0.05.

*p < 0.1.

^aProvincial unemployment rate.

^bBelongs to a grant-receiving household.

Notes: Robust standard errors clustered by individuals in parentheses; POLS and FE estimates weighted by panel weights to correct for sampling design and non-random attrition.

Source: Author computations.

Table 4. Effect of excluding a group of health variables on employment (FE).

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
Covariates	No depression	No physical health	Women	Men
depressed		−0.037*** (0.009)	−0.038*** (0.012)	−0.032** (0.014)
hypertension	0.018 (0.018)		0.016 (0.023)	0.013 (0.027)
diabetes	−0.058* (0.030)		−0.051 (0.035)	−0.071 (0.056)
tuberculosis	−0.026 (0.038)		0.051 (0.046)	−0.088 (0.060)
schooling years	0.017*** (0.006)	0.017*** (0.006)	0.014* (0.008)	0.021*** (0.008)
age	0.032** (0.013)	0.032** (0.013)	0.034** (0.016)	0.025 (0.017)
square of age	−0.000*** (0.000)	−0.000*** (0.000)	−0.000*** (0.000)	−0.000*** (0.000)
household size	−0.006** (0.003)	−0.005** (0.003)	−0.005 (0.003)	−0.007 (0.004)
prov.unemp^a	−0.004*** (0.001)	−0.004*** (0.001)	−0.004* (0.002)	−0.004** (0.002)
rural formal	0.186*** (0.035)	0.185*** (0.035)	0.212*** (0.057)	0.155*** (0.045)
urban formal	0.129*** (0.032)	0.130*** (0.032)	0.155*** (0.050)	0.099** (0.041)
urban informal	0.152*** (0.047)	0.153*** (0.047)	0.242*** (0.073)	0.056 (0.060)
grant^b	−0.018 (0.012)	−0.020* (0.012)	−0.014 (0.016)	−0.026 (0.017)
wave 2	−0.102*** (0.030)	−0.105*** (0.030)	−0.105*** (0.036)	−0.091** (0.037)
wave 3	−0.040 (0.050)	−0.042 (0.051)	−0.038 (0.059)	−0.025 (0.060)
wave 4	0.017 (0.079)	0.016 (0.080)	0.040 (0.094)	0.027 (0.095)
Constant	0.110 (0.411)	0.126 (0.417)	−0.063 (0.514)	0.482 (0.504)
Observations	22 859	22 859	13 710	9 149
R-squared	0.041	0.042	0.045	0.049
Number of respondents	7 960	7 960	4 705	3 255

***p < 0.01.

**p < 0.05.

*p < 0.1.

^aProvincial unemployment rate.

^bBelongs to a grant-receiving household.

Notes: Robust standard errors clustered by individuals in parentheses; estimates weighted by panel weights to correct for sampling design and non-random attrition.

Source: Author computations.

Table 5. The relationship between employment and mental and physical health by age group (FE).

	(1)	(2)
Covariates	Sample: 15–24 years in wave 1	Sample: 25–54 years in wave 1
depressed	−0.051** (0.022)	−0.040*** (0.008)
hypertension	0.065 (0.095)	0.001 (0.014)
diabetes	−0.086 (0.095)	−0.040* (0.023)
tuberculosis	0.001 (0.154)	−0.080*** (0.030)
schooling years	0.004 (0.016)	0.016*** (0.004)
age	−0.052 (0.047)	0.034*** (0.009)
square of age	−0.000 (0.001)	−0.001*** (0.000)
household size	−0.005 (0.005)	−0.008*** (0.002)
prov.unemp^a	−0.005 (0.003)	−0.003** (0.001)
rural formal	0.173*** (0.051)	0.241*** (0.038)
urban formal	0.151*** (0.047)	0.141*** (0.030)
urban informal	0.218*** (0.074)	0.158*** (0.049)
grant^b	−0.056** (0.026)	−0.015 (0.009)
wave 2	−0.003 (0.070)	−0.115*** (0.018)
wave 3	0.236** (0.115)	−0.044 (0.029)
wave 4	0.488*** (0.177)	0.006 (0.045)
Constant	1.822** (0.740)	0.111 (0.287)
number of observations	5 646	17 213
R-squared	0.094	0.043
number of respondents	2 274	5 686

***p < 0.01.

**p < 0.05.

*p < 0.1.

^aProvincial unemployment rate.

^bBelongs to a grant-receiving household.

Notes: Robust standard errors clustered by individuals in parentheses; estimates weighted by panel weights to correct for sampling design and non-random attrition.

Source: Author computations.

Table 6. The relationship between lagged health and employment (OLS).

	(1)	(2)	(3)
Covariates	One-period lag	Two-period lag	Three-period lag
lagged depression	−0.033*** (0.012)	−0.020 (0.014)	−0.013 (0.017)
lagged hypertension	−0.022 (0.023)	−0.049* (0.029)	−0.090** (0.039)
lagged diabetes	−0.073* (0.043)	−0.039 (0.053)	−0.125* (0.074)
lagged tuberculosis	−0.187*** (0.050)	−0.209*** (0.072)	−0.128** (0.061)
schooling years	0.026*** (0.002)	0.025*** (0.002)	0.024*** (0.003)
male	0.159*** (0.013)	0.158*** (0.014)	0.132*** (0.016)
age	0.047*** (0.005)	0.044*** (0.005)	0.037*** (0.006)
square of age	−0.001*** (0.000)	−0.001*** (0.000)	−0.000*** (0.000)
coloured	0.008 (0.020)	−0.032 (0.022)	−0.023 (0.027)
white	−0.080** (0.037)	−0.102*** (0.039)	−0.100** (0.042)
household size	−0.014*** (0.002)	−0.014*** (0.002)	−0.020*** (0.003)
prov.unemp^a	−0.003** (0.001)	−0.005*** (0.001)	−0.007*** (0.002)
rural formal	0.149*** (0.019)	0.151*** (0.021)	0.154*** (0.025)
urban formal	0.123*** (0.015)	0.116*** (0.016)	0.089*** (0.020)
urban informal	0.118*** (0.024)	0.060** (0.026)	0.111*** (0.029)
grant^b	−0.081*** (0.013)	−0.074*** (0.015)	−0.056*** (0.018)
Constant	−0.422*** (0.092)	−0.263** (0.105)	−0.009 (0.120)
number of observations	15 061	10 374	5 711
R-squared	0.185	0.186	0.186
F	107.8	84.70	49.58

***p < 0.01.

**p < 0.05.

*p < 0.1.

^aProvincial unemployment rate.

^bBelongs to a grant-receiving household.

Notes: Standard errors clustered by individuals in parentheses; estimates weighted by panel weights to correct for sampling design and non-random attrition.

Source: Author computations.

Table A1. The relationship between health and economic activity.

	(1)	(2)	(3)
Covariates	POLS	RE	FE
depression	−0.046*** (0.008)	−0.046*** (0.006)	−0.023*** (0.009)
hypertension	−0.020 (0.015)	−0.041*** (0.010)	0.013 (0.017)
diabetes	−0.049 (0.030)	−0.040** (0.018)	−0.015 (0.036)
tuberculosis	−0.109*** (0.033)	−0.135*** (0.021)	−0.030 (0.035)
schooling years	0.023*** (0.001)	0.022*** (0.001)	0.016*** (0.005)
male	0.139*** (0.008)	0.147*** (0.006)
age	0.035*** (0.003)	0.038*** (0.002)	0.046*** (0.011)
square of age	−0.000*** (0.000)	−0.000*** (0.000)	−0.001*** (0.000)
coloured	−0.010 (0.013)	−0.006 (0.009)
white	−0.079*** (0.027)	−0.054*** (0.020)
household size	−0.006*** (0.001)	−0.008*** (0.001)	−0.008*** (0.002)
provincial unemployment rate	−0.002** (0.001)	−0.002*** (0.001)	−0.004*** (0.001)
rural formal	0.115*** (0.014)	0.157*** (0.011)	0.120*** (0.032)
urban formal	0.094*** (0.010)	0.102*** (0.007)	0.069** (0.028)
urban informal	0.099*** (0.015)	0.119*** (0.011)	0.130*** (0.042)
belongs to a grant-receiving household	−0.078*** (0.009)	−0.057*** (0.006)	−0.004 (0.011)
wave 2	−0.129*** (0.010)	−0.143*** (0.007)	−0.130*** (0.026)
wave 3	−0.034*** (0.009)	−0.025*** (0.007)	−0.045 (0.043)
wave 4	0.000 (0.009)	0.001 (0.007)	−0.022 (0.068)
constant	−0.062 (0.056)	−0.118*** (0.039)	−0.176 (0.341)
number of observations	30 700	30 700	30 700
R-squared	0.144		0.040
number of respondents		9 616	9 616

***p < 0.01.

**p < 0.05.

*p < 0.1.

Notes: Standard errors clustered by individuals in parentheses; estimates weighted by panel weights to correct for sampling design and non-random attrition.

Source: Author computations.