The labour market impacts of health conditions – phase 3 UCL/NHSE collaboration

This project seeks to extend the evidence base from the work that a team of UCL academics (from the Centre of Longitudinal Studies, CLS) did, pro bono (as part of phase 1 and 2), for NHSE. This work examined the labour market impacts of certain conditions with a particular emphasis on the effect of those conditions on the probability of being out of the labour market due to ill health. The work of phases 1 and 2 directly informed the fiscal impacts modelling of health conditions on the exchequer that NHS England did. This was an integral part of the “Health, Work, Prevention and Inequalities” work programme.

The analysis in phases 1 and 2 estimated several econometric models using the rich longitudinal data from 1970 British Cohort Study which is one of several high-quality cohort studies maintained by the CLS from which the UCL project team draws from. In phase 3 of this project, we aim to extend the analysis in several priority areas to inform the evidence base that could be used in future policy decisions (including spending reviews).

The analysis in phase 3 will make use of a large number of cohort studies (maintained by CLS) in addition to the 1970 British Cohort Study.

Phase 3 will look to extend the evidence basis in the following directions.

1.Examine the labour market impact of health conditions beyond the ones covered in phase 1 and 2.

2.Examine the labour market impact of combination of conditions such as MSK and mental health, diabetes type 2 and mental health etc.

3.Examine labour market impacts of health conditions may differ by group based on characteristics such as gender, occupational social class, income, education, housing tenure, ethnicity and region.

4.Examine the determinants of early life mental health.

5.Examine the impacts in terms of education and labour market outcomes of early mental health