Econ Papers Daily / 聚合源
当损失两次降临：严重健康冲击与财务福祉
When loss strikes twice: severe health shocks and financial well-being
摘要
We study how fatal and nonfatal health shocks affect households’ ability to meet their financial obligations. We find that fatal shocks substantially increase the likelihood of default and that housing wealth plays a key role as a self-insurance mechanism. Surviving spouses who experience the largest income losses are more likely to sell their homes, and those without housing wealth face a sharply higher risk of debt collection. In the most financially vulnerable families, these shocks even generate intergenerational spillovers. In contrast, nonfatal health shocks lead to only modest increases in default risk. Taken together, our findings suggest that strengthening survivors’ benefits for households with limited resources could improve welfare across generations.
中文摘要
我们研究了致命与非致命健康冲击对家庭履行财务义务能力的影响。研究发现，致命冲击显著增加了违约可能性，而住房财富作为自我保险机制发挥着关键作用。遭受最大收入损失的丧偶者更可能出售房屋，且无住房财富的家庭面临债务催收的风险急剧上升。在最脆弱的家庭中，这些冲击甚至会产生代际溢出效应。相比之下，非致命健康冲击仅导致违约风险小幅上升。综合来看，我们的研究结果表明，为资源有限的家庭加强遗属福利可改善跨代福利水平。