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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The role of the accumulation of poverty and unemployment for health disadvantages

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Health inequality is an important aspect of how advantages and disadvantages are distributed within societies. We extend previous research by considering how trajectories of poverty and employment affect self-reported health among young adults. We use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, restricting the analytical sample to those who were 25 to 45 year-old in 2005. We calculated the indexes that account for persistence and intensity of poverty and employment on 10-year-long individual-level employment and household-level poverty trajectories. Ordinal logit regression models show that both long-lasting poverty and short periods out of employment are detrimental for men’s health. In contrast, only more recent episodes in poverty have a negative effect on women’s health.