Unemployment and self-rated health in Ghana: are there gender differences?

Abstract

PurposeA large extant literature examines the association between unemployment and self-rated health. Most of these studies reveal that unemployment diminishes self-rated health. Another strand of this literature, albeit sparse, suggests that the relationship between unemployment and self-rated health is gendered. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine whether unemployment is correlated with self-rated health in Ghana; and second, to explore whether and to what extent men differ from women on the basis of this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used data from the Wave 6 of World Values Survey in Ghana (n=1552) and probit and instrumental variable probit regressions to empirically examine the association between unemployment and self-rated health in Ghana.FindingsThe results confirm that unemployment is negatively correlated with self-rated health among Ghanaians. Specifically, the unemployed are about 6.84–7.20 percent less likely to report good health status in a pooled sample. Further, after correcting for endogeneity, unemployed men are about 26.68 percent less likely to report good health. However, the association is not statistically significant for unemployed women.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence from Ghana.