Poster #166 - Unequal paths, unequal health? labor market trajectories and self-rated health in the U.S., Germany, and Korea

• In Event: Saturday Poster Luncheon

Abstract

There is growing evidence that labor market inequalities, particularly precarious employment, are significantly associated with adverse health outcomes (Benach et al., 2014). While cumulative disadvantages in the labor market across the life course are a key determinant of health, institutional contexts—especially welfare regimes—mediate the processes through which such disadvantages translate into health disparities. However, little is known about how diverse employment trajectories over the life course affect health in different welfare state settings, particularly in East Asia. This study examines how labor market experiences over adulthood shape self-rated health in later life, using harmonized longitudinal data from three countries that represent contrasting welfare regimes: Germany (continental), the United States (liberal), and South Korea (state-led East Asian). We use long-running panel data—the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), and the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS)—tracking individuals initially aged 30–35 over an 18-year period. Applying multichannel sequence analysis, we jointly consider employment status, occupational skill level, and income to construct typologies of labor market trajectories. Across the three countries, we identify three broadly comparable trajectory types: (1) professional and stable employment trajectories, (2) skilled labor trajectories, and (3) economically inactive or fragmented pathways. While the types appear structurally similar, their distribution and associated meanings vary significantly across national contexts, reflecting institutional and policy differences. Health outcomes also diverge by trajectory and country. In Germany, self-employed trajectories report better self-rated health, while economically inactive individuals show worse outcomes relative to the professional reference group. In Korea, low-skilled irregular employment is associated with poor health, whereas economic inactivity group does not significantly differ from professional trajectories. In the U.S., economic inactivity consistently predicts negative health outcomes relative to the professional reference group. By integrating life-course approaches with welfare regime theory, this study highlights the importance of institutional contexts in shaping both labor market inclusion and long-term health. It contributes new comparative evidence on how employment precarity accumulates and manifests in health inequalities across diverse welfare state settings. 

Author

• Halim Yoon, Syracuse University
  Presenting Author