The ecological effect of unemployment on the incidence of very low birthweight in Norway and Sweden

Little attention has been paid to the ecological effects of unemployment, d espite strong theory suggesting that being socially or economically connect ed to unemployed persons can induce illness. Theory suggests, for example, that the labor market experience of adult males should affect maternal and infant health. We advance this line of inquiry by testing the hypothesis th at quarterly increases in unemployment among Norwegian and Swedish males we re associated with increased incidence of very, low weight births from 1973 through 1995. Results support the hypothesis. We estimate that approximate ly, 188 very, low weight births could have been averted in Norway and about 329 in Sweden, if quarterly increases in male unemployment had been constr ained to the median over the 23-year period. Our findings imply that the so cial cost of unemployment may, be underestimated by focusing on unemploymen t as an individual risk factor.