Disparities in work, risk and health between immigrants and native-born Spaniards.

The probability of acquiring a permanent disability is partly determined by working and contractual conditions, particularly exposure to job risks. We postulate a model in which this impact is mediated by the choice of occupation, with a level of risk associated with it. We assume this choice is endogenous and that it depends on preferences and opportunities in the labour market, both of which may differ between immigrants and natives. To test this hypothesis we apply a bivariate probit model, in which we control for personal and firm characteristics, to data for 2006 from the Continuous Sample of Working Lives provided by the Spanish Social Security system, containing records for over a million workers. We find that risk exposure increases the probability of permanent disability--arising from any cause--by almost 5%. Temporary employment and low-skilled jobs also have a positive impact. Increases in education reduce the likelihood of disability, even after controlling for the impact of education on the choice of (lower) risk. Females have a greater probability of becoming disabled. Migrant status--with differences among regions of origin--significantly affects both disability and the probability of being employed in a high-risk occupation. In spite of immigrants' working conditions being objectively worse, they exhibit a lower probability of becoming disabled than natives because the impact of such conditions on disability is much smaller in their case. Time elapsed since first enrolment in the Social Security system increases the probability of disability in a proportion similar to that of natives, which is consistent with the immigrant assimilation hypothesis. We finally conclude that our theoretical hypothesis that disability and risk are jointly determined is only valid for natives and not valid for immigrants, in the sense that, for them, working conditions are not a matter of choice in terms of health.

El impacto diferencial del capital social sobre la salud mental de la población autóctona y los inmigrantes residentes en Cataluña / Differential impact of social capital on mental health in the native-born and immigrant populations living in Catalonia (Spain)

Objetivos: Este trabajo pretende crear un puente entre la literatura sobre la inmigración y la que relaciona el capital social y la salud. Nuestro primer objetivo es aportar nueva evidencia empírica sobre la asociación entre capital social y salud utilizando por primera vez datos de Cataluña. En segundo lugar, intentamos determinar la posible existencia de un efecto diferencial del capital social sobre la salud entre inmigrantes y nativos. También distinguimos entre capital social individual y capital social comunitario. Métodos: Para cumplir los objetivos descritos utilizamos la Encuesta de Salud de Cataluña de 2006 (ESCA 2006). La estimación de los modelos de salud se lleva a cabo utilizando la modelización multinivel. Se han estimado modelos separados tanto para nativos como para inmigrantes. Resultados: Los resultados revelan que existe una asociación positiva entre una buena salud mental en Cataluña y el capital social. No obstante, el impacto del capital social individual es mayor que el del comunitario. También observamos que no existe un efecto diferencial entre inmigrantes y nativos en Cataluña, mientras que tales diferencias sí se observan respecto a los nativos españoles nacidos fuera de Cataluña. También observamos la existencia de heterogeneidad geográfica en cuanto al efecto del capital social individual sobre la salud mental para ambos colectivos, nativos e inmigrantes. Conclusiones: A partir de nuestros resultados, creemos que potenciar la acumulación de capital social puede ser un instrumento potencialmente eficaz para conseguir los objetivos relacionados con la mejora de la salud (AU)

Objectives: This study attempts to create a bridge between the literature on immigration and on social capital and health. The objectives were two-fold: firstly, to provide new empirical evidence on the association between social capital and health, using data from Catalonia for the first time and, secondly, to explore the possible existence of a differential impact of social capital on health between native-born residents and immigrants. We also distinguished between individual and community-level social capital. Methods: We used the 2006 Catalan Health Survey (ESCA 2006). To assess the relationship between social capital and mental health, we used multilevel models, estimated separately for native-born and immigrant residents. Results: The results revealed a positive link between social capital and good mental health in Catalonia. However, this effect was stronger for individual than for community-level social capital. The results did not support the hypothesis of a differential impact between immigrants and native-born Catalans, but did indicate differences with respect to Spaniards born outside Catalonia. Geographic heterogeneity in the effect of individual social capital on mental health in both immigrants and native-born residents was also detected. Conclusions: We believe that enhancing social capital could potentially be an effective policy tool to achieve objectives related to health status improvement (AU)

[Differential impact of social capital on mental health in the native-born and immigrant populations living in Catalonia (Spain)]. / El impacto diferencial del capital social sobre la salud mental de la población autóctona y los inmigrantes residentes en Cataluña.

OBJECTIVES: This study attempts to create a bridge between the literature on immigration and on social capital and health. The objectives were two-fold: firstly, to provide new empirical evidence on the association between social capital and health, using data from Catalonia for the first time and, secondly, to explore the possible existence of a differential impact of social capital on health between native-born residents and immigrants. We also distinguished between individual and community-level social capital. METHODS: We used the 2006 Catalan Health Survey (ESCA 2006). To assess the relationship between social capital and mental health, we used multilevel models, estimated separately for native-born and immigrant residents. RESULTS: The results revealed a positive link between social capital and good mental health in Catalonia. However, this effect was stronger for individual than for community-level social capital. The results did not support the hypothesis of a differential impact between immigrants and native-born Catalans, but did indicate differences with respect to Spaniards born outside Catalonia. Geographic heterogeneity in the effect of individual social capital on mental health in both immigrants and native-born residents was also detected. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that enhancing social capital could potentially be an effective policy tool to achieve objectives related to health status improvement.