The literature on immigration and health has provided mixed evidence on the health differentials between immigrants and citizens, while a growing body of evidence alludes to the unhealthy assimilation of immigrants. Relying on five different health measures, the present paper investigates the heterogeneity in health patterns between immigrants and citizens, and also between immigrants depending on their country of origin. We use panel data on more than 100,000 older adults living in nineteen European countries. Our panel data methodology allows for unobserved heterogeneity. We document the existence of a healthy immigrant effect, of an unhealthy convergence, and of a reversal of the health differentials between citizens and immigrants over time. We are able to estimate the time threshold after which immigrants' health becomes worse than that of citizens. We further document some heterogeneity in the convergence of health differentials between immigrants and citizens in Europe. Namely, the unhealthy convergence is more pronounced in terms of chronic conditions for immigrants from low-HDI countries, and in terms of self-assessed health and body-mass index for immigrants from medium-and high-HDI countries.
Pertussis vaccination policy varies across Europe, not only in the type of vaccine—whole cell (wP) vs. acellular (aP1/2/3/5)—but also in the schedule and recommendation for parents. This study aims to investigate the determining factors for the type of vaccine, immunization schedule and maternal immunization recommendation. From March to May 2019, experts in national health agencies and major academic or research institutions from Denmark, France, Poland, Sweden and the UK were invited to a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis was performed on the transcripts using a codebook formulated by three coders. Inter-coder agreement was assessed. Fifteen expert interviews were conducted. The identified driving factors for pertussis vaccine policy were classified into three domains: scientific factors, sociological factors, and pragmatic factors. The determining factors for the type of vaccine were prescriber’s preference, concern of adverse events following immunization (AEFI), effectiveness, and consideration of other vaccine components in combined vaccines. The determining factors for infant schedule were immunity response and the potential to improve coverage and timeliness. The determining factors for maternal immunization were infant mortality and public acceptability. To conclude, socio-political and pragmatic factors were, besides scientific factors, important in determining the pertussis vaccine type, schedule of childhood immunization and recommendations for parents.
Health of migrants is a widely studied topic. It has been argued that migrant health may deteriorate over time. Though migrants are a “hard to reach” population in survey data, this paper builds on a unique dataset provided by Médecins du Monde from five countries. We study self-perceived health (SPH) in connection with socio-economic and demographic factors and length of stay. Results differ for men and women. Compared to other documented migrants, asylum seekers have a 50–70% greater chance of having worse health. Migrants with better living conditions have a 57–78% chance of being in better health. Male migrants with a job have between a 82–116% chance of being in good health. The probability for women from poorer countries to have a better physical SPH after three months of residing in the host country is six-fold that of women from richer countries. This paper contributes widely to the knowledge of health of migrants. Contrary to other evidence, health of women migrants from poorer countries tends to improve with length of stay.
Shortages of nursing staff in OECD countries have been a preoccupation for policy makers. Shortages of staff may be the consequence of uncompetitive pay. In the private sector, employers in different regions can offer different pay rates to reflect local amenities and cost of living. Hospitals in the UK however cannot set the pay for their employees, and as a result they might therefore incur staff shortages. Moreover, occupational groups do not operate in isolation. Shortages of staff may also be the consequence of the competitiveness of pay of an alternative group of staff. This is investigated using two distinct groups of nursing staff: assistant nurses and registered nurses working in English hospitals in 2003-5 using national-level data-sets. We find that an increase by 10% of the pay competitiveness of registered nurses decreases the shortage of both the registered nurses and of assistant nurses by 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.
Spatial wage theory suggests that employers in different regions may offer different pay rates to reflect local amenities and cost of living. Higher wages may be required to compensate for a less pleasant environment or a higher cost of living. If wages in a competing sector within an area are less flexible and therefore less competitive this may lead to an inability to employ staff. This paper considers the market for nursing staff in France where there is general regulation of wages and public hospitals compete for staff with the private hospital and non-hospital sectors. We consider two types of nursing staff, registered and assistant nurses and first establish the degree of spatial variation in the competitiveness of pay of nurses in public hospitals. We then consider whether these spatial variations are associated with variation in the employment of nursing staff. We find that despite regulation of pay in the public and private sector, there are substantial local variations in the competitiveness of nurses' pay. We find evidence that the spatial variations in the competitiveness of pay are associated with relative numbers of assistant nurses but not registered nurses. While we find the influence of the competitiveness of pay is small, it suggests that nonpay conditions may be an important factor in adjusting the labour market as might be expected in such a regulated market.
Health of migrant is a widely studied topic. It has been argued that migrant health may deteriorate over time. Though migrants are ‘a hard to reach’ population in survey data, this paper builds on a unique dataset provided by Médecins du Monde from five countries. We study self perceived health (SPH) in connection with socio-economic and demographic factors and length of stay. Results show different results for men and women. Asylum seekers compared to other documented migrants have a worse health. Migrants with better living conditions tend to be in better health. Employment and stable accommodation has a positive effect on SPH. Women from poorer countries have a better physical SPH after 3 months of residing in the host country. This paper contributes widely to knowledge of health of migrants. Contrarily to other evidence, health of migrants tends to improve for some migrants.
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