Liquidity, Activity, Mortality / William N. Evans, Timothy J. Moore.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Evans, William N.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Moore, Timothy J.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w15310.

NBER working paper series no. w15310

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2009.

Summary:

We document a within-month mortality cycle where deaths decline before the 1st day of the month and then spike after the 1st. This cycle is present across a wide variety of causes and demographic groups. A similar cycle exists for a range of activities, suggesting the mortality cycle may be due to short-term variation in levels of activity. We provide evidence that the within-month activity cycle is generated by liquidity. Our results suggest a causal pathway whereby liquidity problems reduce activity, which in turn reduces mortality. These relationships help explain the pro-cyclic nature of mortality.

Notes:

Print version record

September 2009.