Economic security and the ability to meaningfully participate in the economy are vital to individual and population health and well-being. Yet for many workers, low wages and lack of paid leave policies put them at risk for poor outcomes. Wealth and health are intricately linked—through various direct and indirect pathways—and a more nuanced understanding of these connections is key to increasing the opportunity to achieve good health.

On October 2, Evidence for Action and Policies for Action researchers will investigate these connections at the annual Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science conference.

The panel draws on a wide range of experts from health economics, public health, and health policy, and each presentation will focus on a different aspect of the effects of policies designed to increase the economic security of low-wage workers and their families. These policies include the effects of minimum wage on the health of children and early childhood education providers, living wage policy impacts on low-income adult health, and the effects of San Francisco’s Paid Parental Leave Ordinance on low-income workers.

Together, these projects provide important clues to how wage and paid leave policies can be leveraged to improve health and well-being. As local, state, and national policymakers—as well as the private sector—grapple with our country’s poor health outcomes, this research helps illuminate the non-health policy levers that can promote health and health equity and truly make a difference for low-income workers and their families.

The panel will be moderated by RWJF's Priya Gandhi, and includes:

• Health at a Living Wage: Evidence from Natural Experiments, presented by Mustafa Hussein, Evidence for Action
• Exploring the Effects of Wage on the Culture of Health in Early Childhood Education Centers, presented by Heather Hill, Evidence for Action
• Effects of San Francisco’s Paid Parental Leave Ordinance: A Quasi-Experimental Study Using Administrative Data, presented by Julia Goodman, Policies for Action
• Effects of Minimum Wage on Children’s Health, presented by George Wehby, Policies for Action

Wednesday, October 2
3:15pm – 4:30pm
Room: Ravenna

Learn more about the conference here.