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Stimulus payments can kill you

Yes, those $900 cheques from Uncle Kevin can kill. That?s the finding of a new study in the Bulletin on Aging and Health:

Many studies find that households increase their consumption after the receipt of expected income payments, a result inconsistent with the life-cycle/permanent income hypothesis. Consumption can increase adverse health events, such as traffic accidents, heart attacks and strokes. In this paper, we examine the short-term mortality consequences of income receipt. We find that mortality increases following the arrival of monthly Social Security payments, regular wage payments for military personnel, the 2001 tax rebates, and Alaska Permanent Fund dividend payments. The increase in short-run mortality is large, potentially eliminating some of the protective benefits of additional income.

Full post as published by Oikos on September 09, 2009 (boomark / email).