Run for your life? The effect of close elections on the life expectancy of politicians

Mark Borgschulte; Jacob Vogler

doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2019.09.003

Run for your life? The effect of close elections on the life expectancy of politicians

Mark Borgschulte, Jacob Vogler

Economics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

We estimate the causal effect of election to political office on natural lifespan using a regression discontinuity design and a novel dataset of winning and losing candidates for US governor, senator, and House representative. We find that candidates gain over a year of life from winning a close election. The effect is strongest for governors, and has grown larger over the course of US history. We also examine the effect of stress experienced in office, finding that serving in more challenging situations is not associated with reduced lifespan.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	18-32
Number of pages	15
Journal	Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Volume	167
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2019.09.003
State	Published - Nov 2019

Keywords

Longevity
Mortality
Politicians
Regression discontinuity
Status
Stress

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Economics and Econometrics
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Online availability

10.1016/j.jebo.2019.09.003

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abstract = "We estimate the causal effect of election to political office on natural lifespan using a regression discontinuity design and a novel dataset of winning and losing candidates for US governor, senator, and House representative. We find that candidates gain over a year of life from winning a close election. The effect is strongest for governors, and has grown larger over the course of US history. We also examine the effect of stress experienced in office, finding that serving in more challenging situations is not associated with reduced lifespan.",

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AU - Vogler, Jacob

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AB - We estimate the causal effect of election to political office on natural lifespan using a regression discontinuity design and a novel dataset of winning and losing candidates for US governor, senator, and House representative. We find that candidates gain over a year of life from winning a close election. The effect is strongest for governors, and has grown larger over the course of US history. We also examine the effect of stress experienced in office, finding that serving in more challenging situations is not associated with reduced lifespan.

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KW - Mortality

KW - Politicians

KW - Regression discontinuity

KW - Status

KW - Stress

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Run for your life? The effect of close elections on the life expectancy of politicians

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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