Joan Costa-Font is an academic and policy-oriented economist, currently serving as a Professor of Health Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He coordinates the Ageing@LSE group and is a faculty associate at LSE Health and the International Inequalities Institute. He leads the Ageing and Health Incentives Lab (AHIL) and co-leads the perceptions of inequality program. He is affiliated with IZA and CESifo, two major global economics research networks.

Abstract:

Political shocks can have consequences for the functioning of the health system. To study this question, we examine the effect of the referendum on the United Kingdom's (UK) membership in the European Union (EU), the so-called Brexit referendum, on the motivation and outcomes of the healthcare workforce in the UK. Comparing specific occupations exposed and unexposed to a European workforce before the Brexit referendum, we show the Brexit referendum reduced the job satisfaction of healthcare workers (-1.4%), especially that of physicians (-2.6%) and nurses (-2.4%), and raised their weekly working hours (4.8%). Such effects were driven by a higher reliance on temporary workers and understaffing due to recruitment difficulties. In addition, we find evidence of weakened team motivation, alongside mental health worsening (burnout) after Brexit, alongside declining pro-social motivation towards the National Health Service (NHS) mission. 

Presentation