Recessions can give you longer life, better health
Seeking a silver lining in the dark clouds of economic downturn? Here’s one. Strange as it may sound – especially when you think of all those sleepless nights, that constant stress and fears about your livelihood – economic recession could actually boost your longevity.
So say researchers at University of Michigan’s Institute of Social Research, who analysed the health of American population and economic growth between 1920 and 1940, the years best remembered for the greatest economic downturn of the twentieth century – Great Depression between 1929 and 1933.
The period was marked by high unemployment levels. And yet, life expectancy of Americans increased in 1929-33 after either remaining stable or decreasing in other years of 1920s. The case was the same in other economic downturn years of 1921 and 1938.
The benefit was greater for non-white population of the United States. Non-white men’s life expectancy declined by 8.1 years in boom years of 1921-26. But when came recession in 1929-33, it grew by the same number of years. Similarly, non-white women’s longevity decreased by 7.4 year in the boom years but increased by 8.2 years during bust times.
In general, life expectancy went up by 8.8 years between 1920 and 1940.
Although suicides during the period increased, they accounted for less than 2 per cent of all deaths, other causes of which were heart and kidney disease, tuberculosis, and traffic accidents. The incidence of all these causes declined during recession but rose when the going was good.
José A Tapia Granados, one of the authors of the study, said, “Working conditions are very different during expansions and recessions.
During expansions, firms are very busy, and they typically demand a lot of effort from employees, who are required to work a lot of overtime, and to work at a fast pace. This can create stress, which is associated with more drinking and smoking. Also, new workers may be hired who are inexperienced, so injuries are likely to be more common. And people who are working a lot may also sleep less which is known to have implications for health. Other health-related behaviours such as diet may also change for the worse during expansions.”
Less tobacco and alcohol means less strain on pocket and lower chances of diseases. People could also be eating at home more often, boosting their health. In addition, they could be taking the car out less often to save on petrol bills, minimising their chances of death due to traffic accidents.
Another thing that might be helping is better social bonding during bad times. “This would improve the level of social cohesion and social support and could have a protective effect on health,” said Tapia Granados.
The findings of the study have been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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