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SUMMARY:Health Economics @ Cambridge seminar: Does walking or cycling to w
 ork improve psychological wellbeing?  Evidence from the British Household 
 Panel Survey - Adam Martin\, RAND Europe & Cambridge Centre for Health Ser
 vices Research
DTSTART:20160222T150000Z
DTEND:20160222T160000Z
UID:TALK59164@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Ed Wilson
DESCRIPTION:A variety of economic\, environmental\, and physical health be
 nefits are expected if more commuters were encouraged to walk\, cycle or t
 ake public transport to work. Yet relatively little is known about the rel
 ationship between commuting and subjective wellbeing. \n\nThis study\, whi
 ch used data on 18\,000 commuters in the British Household Panel Survey (B
 HPS)\, was the first longitudinal study to use a large-scale nationally-re
 presentative dataset to explore the impact on subjective wellbeing of swit
 ching from car travel to more active travel modes. \n\nUsing fixed effects
  models\, this study provided greater support for causal inference than ex
 isting cross-sectional studies. Subjective wellbeing (mental distress) was
  measured using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12). After accounting
  for changes in individual-level socioeconomic characteristics and potenti
 al confounding variables relating to work\, residence and health\, the res
 ults showed that switching from car travel to walking\, cycling or public 
 transport improved wellbeing. \n\nThe results contradicted a cross-section
 al study by the Office for National Statistics which showed a negative rel
 ationship between walking and cycling and some aspects of wellbeing when c
 ompared to driving. The positive psychological wellbeing effects identifie
 d in this study should be considered in cost-benefit assessments of interv
 entions seeking to promote more active commute modes.  
LOCATION:Thomas and Dorothy Strangeways Room\, Strangeways Research Labora
 tory\, Wort’s Causeway\, Cambridge\, CB1 8RN
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