( CNN ) -- It has been said that health policy is too important to be left solely to doctors , because the determinants of health lie mainly outside the medical care system . For complementary reasons I would say that economic policy is too important to be left solely to economists . The effects of economic policy are much more than economic , health principally among them . In fact , so close is the link between social and economic policy and health , that health can serve as an evaluator of policy , a kind of social accountant . Arguably , we value health more than we value growth in the gross domestic product . Health as a social accountant is highly relevant to debates about macroeconomic policy in the wake of the global financial crisis . My caricature of what passes for debate on macro-economic policy is that austerians believe that national debt has to be reduced in order to get economic growth . Keynesians believe that you have to get economic growth in order to reduce debt . Therefore , a booming economy , not an ailing one , is the time for government to spend less . As a non-economist , my solution to the debate is to look not at which policy leads more quickly to economic growth , but at the effect of policy on the lives people are able to lead , and thus on their health . Whatever good economic effects the authors of policies of austerity imagine them to have , their effects on the lives of young people in Europe have been disastrous . There is little doubt that policies of austerity have contributed to youth unemployment in large numbers . Recent figures show unemployment rates of 15 to 24-year-olds are 36 % in Portugal , more than 41 % in Italy , almost 60 % in Greece and almost 58 % Spain . By contrast , the figure is just over 11 % in the Netherlands and under 8 % in Germany . Perhaps some of these young people in Southern Europe are in `` informal '' employment , and should n't be counted as unemployed . Even so , there is still a major issue of youth unemployment . It is little use politicians lecturing school leavers to stop being layabouts and get a job , if the jobs are not there . Arguably , policies of austerity make job opportunities more scarce . Youth unemployment matters for at least three reasons . First , unemployment is bad for mental and physical health . Looking across Europe , in general the higher the unemployment rate of a country the higher the suicide rate , and the homicide rate . Far from unemployment being a lifestyle choice , people dislike it so much they are more likely to kill themselves , and each other . The short term effects of unemployment are on mental health . In the longer term , physical health is damaged . In the 1980s economic downturn in Britain , there was clear evidence that unemployment was associated with an increase in mortality of about 20 % , compared with people in the same occupational class . Second , young people who leave education for the scrap heap are in danger of never getting gainful employment with any security . The implication is a life of social marginality , including social isolation , poverty and homelessness -- all of which are bad for health . Throw into the mix the fact that the unemployed have worse diets , are more likely to smoke , and may suffer from the effects of alcohol and drugs , and you have a potent recipe for ill-health . Third , ill-effects on health are correlated with other unfortunate social consequences . The riots that scarred London in the summer of 2011 began in Tottenham . I had been citing Tottenham as having the worst male life expectancy in London , 18 years shorter than that in affluent Kensington and Chelsea . What a coincidence that the riots should have started in Tottenham , and not in Kensington and Chelsea . Of 1,000 young rioters going through magistrate courts , 91.4 % were not in education , employment or training . Why would a young person with a job , or in education , or training , want to riot and loot , when they have a stake in the future ? I do not believe in counsels of despair . The problem of youth unemployment and health is soluble . One strategy is to deal with youth unemployment by making it a prime consideration for macro-economic policy . Other things equal , as economists love to say , do not pursue policies that throw young people on the scrapheap . A complementary strategy is to pursue active labor market policies that have the twin strategy of reasonable unemployment benefits and mechanisms to help young people into training or employment . Evidence from across Europe suggests that the greater the investment in active labor market policies the less effect unemployment has on suicide rates . An economic policy to prevent mental illness ? As a public health doctor I would recommend it . READ MORE : . CNN Money : The Future of Health Care . Unemployment is hard on the heart , and the harm may add up . Unemployment takes tough mental toll . Why we need a 'leg-up ' state . Davos and its dictionary diplomacy . The world 's most exclusive gathering . What 's your economic mood ? How much does it cost to go ? The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Michael Marmot .
Michael Marmot says austerity has increased youth unemployment in Europe . Marmot says that unemployment is bad for mental and physical health . He says that social exclusion , poverty and homelessness affect health . Unemployment should be a key consideration in macro - economic policy , Marmot says .