The relationship between recessions and health
Economic recessions seem to reduce overall mortality rates, but increase suicides and mental health problems
Nick Drydakis
Anglia Ruskin University, UK, and IZA, Germany
Recessions are complex events that affect personal health and behavior via various potentially opposing mechanisms. While recessions are known to have negative effects on mental health and lead to an increase in suicides, it has been proven that they reduce mortality rates. A general health policy agenda in relation to recessions remains ambiguous due to the lack of consistency between different individual- and country-level approaches. However, aggregate regional patterns provide valuable information, and local social planners could use them to design region-specific policy responses to mitigate the negative health effects cause by recessions.
Substantial country-level research shows that mortality declines (i.e. people live longer) during recessions.
Recessions can make more time available for individuals to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Motor vehicle deaths have been shown to decrease during recessions.
Some studies suggest that during recessions the stigma of being unemployed decreases.
A plethora of individual-level studies show that recessions lead to adverse mental health, especially for working-age and low-income people.
The number of suicides appears to increase during periods of recession.
Income loss due to recessions decreases investments in health-enhancing goods and services.
Austerity measures that may be common during recessions, such as budget cuts to social welfare, mainly affect vulnerable population groups and the long-term unemployed.
Evaluations of the health-related impacts of economic recessions have shown inconsistent results. However, if recessions cause a greater deterioration in individuals' mental health and a larger number of suicides, then governments should be motivated to work even harder to recover the world's economies after downturns occur. Governments should acknowledge that the potential impact of recessions on people's health depends on the extent to which people are protected from vulnerability. Welfare policies, such as labor market programs, debt relief programs, and access to health and mental health services, should thus play a significant role as a mediator in the relationship between recessions and health.
recessions, unemployment, mortality, suicides, health, mental health
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Bender et al. (2013)
Bender, K., Economou, A., Theodossiou, I. "The temporary and permanent effects of unemployment on mortality in Europe" International Labour Review 152:2 (2013): 275–286.
Stuckler and Basu (2013)
Stuckler, D., Basu, S. The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills. London: Allen Lane, 2013.
[1] Berkman and Kawachi (2000)
[1]Berkman, L. F., Kawachi, I. Social Epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
[2] Ruhm (2015)
[2]Ruhm, C. J. "Recessions, healthy no more?" Journal of Health Economics 42 (2015): 17–28.
[1]Local Area Unemployment Statistics, USA
[2]Compressed Mortality File (CMF), USA
[3]Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute, USA
[4]Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), USA
[5]Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey (IPUMS–CPS)
[6]Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Series, USA
[3] van Gool and Pearson (2014)
[3]van Gool, K., Pearson, M. Health, Austerity and Economic Crisis: Assessing the Short-Term Impact in OECD Countries OECD Health Working Papers No.76, 2014.
[4] Stuckler et al. (2015)
[4]Stuckler, D., Reeves, A., Karanikolos, M., McKee, M. "The health effects of the global financial crisis: Can we reconcile the differing views? A network analysis of literature across disciplines" Health Economics, Policy and Law 10:1 (2015): 83–99.
[5]Stuckler, D., Basu, S., Suhrcke, M., Coutts, A., McKee, M. "The public health effect of economic crises and alternative policy responses in Europe: An empirical analysis" The Lancet 374 (2009): 315–323.
[1]European Health for All Database (HFA-DB)
[2]Key Indicators of the Labour Market
[3]World Bank World Development Indicators
[4]OECD Health Data
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
[6] Catalano et al. (2011)
[6]Catalano, R., Goldman-Mellor, S., Saxton, K., Margerison-Zilko, C., Subbaraman, M., LeWinn, K., Anderson, E. "The health effects of economic decline" Annual Review of Public Health 32 (2011): 431–450.
[7] Drydakis (2015)
[7]Drydakis, N. "The effect of unemployment on self-reported health and mental health in Greece from 2008 to 2013: A longitudinal study before and during the financial crisis" Social Science and Medicine 128 (2015): 43–51.
[1]Longitudinal Labor Market Study (LLMS)
[8] Paul and Moser (2009)
[8]Paul, K. I., Moser, K. "Unemployment impairs mental health: Meta analyses" Journal of Vocational Behavior 74:3 (2009): 264–282.
Micro-level analysis - Meta study
[9] Miller et al. (2009)
[9]Miller, D. L., Page, M. E., Stevens, A. H., Filipski, M. "Why are recessions good for your health?" American Economic Review 99:2 (2009): 122–127.
[1]National Center for Disease Control, USA
[2]National Health Interview Survey
[3]Survey of Epidemiology and End Results, USA
[4]Census/Microcensus data (Micro data) - Longitudinal or Panel
[10] Brenner (2005)
[10]Brenner, M. H. "Commentary: Economic growth is the basis of mortality decline in the 20th century. Experience of the United States 1900–2000" International Journal of Epidemiology 34:6 (2005): 1214–1221.
[11] Breuer (2015)
[11]Breuer, C. "Unemployment and suicide mortality: Evidence from regional panel data in Europe" Health Economics 24:8 (2015): 936–950.
[1]Eurostat Regional Database
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
[12] Golden and Perreire (2015)
[12]Golden, S. D., Perreire, K. M. "Losing jobs and lighting up. Employment experiences and smoking in the Great Recession" Social Science and Medicine 138 (2015): 110–118.
[13] Davalos et al. (2012)
[13]Davalos, M. E., Fang, H., French, M. T. "Easing the pain of an economic downturn: Macroeconomic conditions and excessive alcohol consumption" Health Economics 21 (2012): 1318–1335.
[1]National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions
Berkman, L. F., Kawachi, I. Social Epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Ruhm, C. J. "Recessions, healthy no more?" Journal of Health Economics 42 (2015): 17–28.
van Gool, K., Pearson, M. Health, Austerity and Economic Crisis: Assessing the Short-Term Impact in OECD Countries OECD Health Working Papers No.76, 2014.
Stuckler, D., Reeves, A., Karanikolos, M., McKee, M. "The health effects of the global financial crisis: Can we reconcile the differing views? A network analysis of literature across disciplines" Health Economics, Policy and Law 10:1 (2015): 83–99.
Stuckler, D., Basu, S., Suhrcke, M., Coutts, A., McKee, M. "The public health effect of economic crises and alternative policy responses in Europe: An empirical analysis" The Lancet 374 (2009): 315–323.
Catalano, R., Goldman-Mellor, S., Saxton, K., Margerison-Zilko, C., Subbaraman, M., LeWinn, K., Anderson, E. "The health effects of economic decline" Annual Review of Public Health 32 (2011): 431–450.
Drydakis, N. "The effect of unemployment on self-reported health and mental health in Greece from 2008 to 2013: A longitudinal study before and during the financial crisis" Social Science and Medicine 128 (2015): 43–51.
Paul, K. I., Moser, K. "Unemployment impairs mental health: Meta analyses" Journal of Vocational Behavior 74:3 (2009): 264–282.
Miller, D. L., Page, M. E., Stevens, A. H., Filipski, M. "Why are recessions good for your health?" American Economic Review 99:2 (2009): 122–127.
Brenner, M. H. "Commentary: Economic growth is the basis of mortality decline in the 20th century. Experience of the United States 1900–2000" International Journal of Epidemiology 34:6 (2005): 1214–1221.
Breuer, C. "Unemployment and suicide mortality: Evidence from regional panel data in Europe" Health Economics 24:8 (2015): 936–950.
Golden, S. D., Perreire, K. M. "Losing jobs and lighting up. Employment experiences and smoking in the Great Recession" Social Science and Medicine 138 (2015): 110–118.
Davalos, M. E., Fang, H., French, M. T. "Easing the pain of an economic downturn: Macroeconomic conditions and excessive alcohol consumption" Health Economics 21 (2012): 1318–1335.