Silver medalists’ life expectancy is less than that of gold and bronze medalists; perceived dissatisfactory competition outcomes may adversely affect health

The Effects of Competition Outcomes on Health: Evidence from the Lifespans of U.S. Olympic Medalists. Adriaan Kalwij. Economics & Human Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2018.10.001

Highlights
•    Silver medalists’ life expectancy is less than that of gold and bronze medalists.
•    Perceived dissatisfactory competition outcomes may adversely affect health.
•    Competition outcomes could play a causal role in the positive SES-health gradient.

Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of competition outcomes on health by using U.S. Olympic medalist lifespans and medal colors as a natural experiment. Whereas the life expectancies of gold and bronze medalists do not differ significantly, life expectancy of silver medalists is about 2.4 and 3.9 years less than these former, respectively. These findings are readily explainable by insights from behavioral economics, psychology, and human biology, which suggest that (perceived) dissatisfactory competition outcomes may adversely affect health. Competition outcomes that affect socioeconomic status (SES) could, therefore, play an important causal role in the positive SES-health gradient among the general population.