Recessions, healthy no more?

Ruhm, Christopher J.

doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2015.03.004

Cited by 279 publications

(195 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Specifically, in the E.U., rising unemployment rates during the Recession were associated with declining mortality among individuals <65 years [36], while studies that looked at mortality among all age groups combined reported no effect [37,41]. In the U.S., the previously described association between rising unemployment and declining mortality appears to have tapered off before the onset of the Recession [39]. Individual and multilevel analyses also found that older individuals in the U.S. who lost their jobs during recessions faced increasing mortality risk [40].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Impacts of the Great Recession: a Critical Review

et al. 2016

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The severity, sudden onset, and multipronged nature of the Great Recession (2007–2009) provided a unique opportunity to examine the health impacts of macroeconomic downturn. We comprehensively review empirical literature examining the relationship between the Recession and mental and physical health outcomes in developed nations. Overall, studies reported detrimental impacts of the Recession on health, particularly mental health. Macro- and individual-level employment- and housing-related sequelae of the Recession were associated with declining fertility and self-rated health, and increasing morbidity, psychological distress, and suicide, although traffic fatalities and population-level alcohol consumption declined. Health impacts were stronger among men and racial/ethnic minorities. Importantly, strong social safety nets in some European countries appear to have buffered those populations from negative health effects. This literature, however, still faces multiple methodological challenges, and more time may be needed to observe the Recession’s full health impact. We conclude with suggestions for future work in this field.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Impacts of the Great Recession: a Critical Review

et al. 2016

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“…He speculates that rising opportunity costs may be an explanation. Using more recent data, from 1976 through 2009, Ruhm (2015) points to a shift over time in the relationship between total mortality and economic conditions; from being procyclical to being unrelated. This shift is however not the same across causes of mortality.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Examined possible mechanisms for the procyclicality of overall mortality in the United States have mostly been personal income (Ruhm 2000), health behaviours (Ruhm 2003(Ruhm , 2007(Ruhm , 2015, and individual labour market status (Miller et al 2009). Miller et al (2009) find that the added deaths related to a rise in the unemployment rate are mostly for age groups that are not likely to be a part of the labour force; only 7% of additional deaths were for the age group 25-64.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, people's individual-level economic conditions have been studied to some extent as possible mechanisms, mostly using microdata on personal income. Ruhm (2000) finds that changes in personal income play a negligible part in the relationship between business cycles and health, but he has also pointed to risky behaviours (such as smoking and drinking) as pathways (Ruhm 2003(Ruhm , 2004(Ruhm , 2015. On the other hand, increased income could allow people to consume more health care and partake in healthful activities, i.e., it may have protective effects, especially in countries where health services are privately funded to a considerable extent (Gerdtham and Ruhm 2006).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following an example set in the literature on the composition of demographic factors to include in analyses of this type (Gerdtham and Ruhm 2006;Ruhm 2000Ruhm , 2015Ariizumi and Schirle 2012;Tapia Granados 2005b;Neumayer 2004), the total and gender-specific proportion of the population aged 0-14, 65-75, and over 75 are thus included as control variables.…”

Section: Estimation Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland

Birgisdóttir¹,

Ásgeirsdóttir²

2017

DemRes

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Income or Job Loss and Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ringlein,

Ettman,

Stuart

2024

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportanceGiven the expiration of expanded unemployment and other benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to understand the association between pandemic income or job loss and long-term implications on mental health.ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between income or job loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later psychological distress.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cohort study used 5 waves of nationally representative, longitudinal survey data (September 16, 2019, through September 18, 2022) from the Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel. Doubly robust propensity score–weighted quasi-Poisson models were used to estimate the association of self or household income or job loss during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic with later psychological distress, while controlling for pre–income loss characteristics (demographics, finances, and psychological distress). The study sample comprised US working-age adults (aged 18-64 years) who had not experienced income or job loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic by March 24, 2020.ExposureParticipant-reported self or household income or job loss (ie, reduced hours or demand for work) due to the COVID19 pandemic between March 24, 2020, and August 16, 2020.Main Outcome and MeasuresPsychological distress was measured using a composite scale of 0 to 15 based on participants’ reported frequency of feeling depressed, on edge, sleepless, lonely, and hopeless in the past week in March 2020, February 2021, and September 2022.ResultsOf 1392 working-age adults (survey weighted 52.7% male and 47.7% aged 30-49 years) who had not reported income or job loss before March 24, 2020, a survey weighted 35.7% reported job or income loss between March 24 and August 16, 2020. Early-phase pandemic income or job loss was associated with higher distress in February 2021 (estimated ratio, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01-1.18; P = .03) and September 2022 (estimated ratio, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.02-1.22; P = .02) among participants who experienced job or income loss between March 24 and August 16, 2020, compared with the propensity score–weighted mean in the group who did not experience income loss.Conclusions and RelevanceThese small but significant within-person associations between early-phase pandemic household income or job loss and psychological distress up to 29 months later suggest that policies are needed to support people with income or job loss to help mitigate the long-term adverse mental health outcomes of economic disruption.

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Recessions, healthy no more?

Cited by 279 publications

References 57 publications

Health Impacts of the Great Recession: a Critical Review

Health Impacts of the Great Recession: a Critical Review

Macroeconomic conditions and population health in Iceland

Income or Job Loss and Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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