Is the Recession Good for You?

No doubt we all change our behavior  during the recession but did you know that as a society we get healthier? According Christopher Ruhm in his 2003 paper "Healthy Living in Hard Times" for  every 1% increase in unemployment the death rate decreases on average by 0.5 percent. David Potts in his 2006 book, "Great Myths of the Great Depression " describes how Australia's suicide rate peaked in 1930, but overall health improved and death rates declined; after 1930, suicide rates declined as well.

They and others attribute the overall increase in health to be attributed to:

• Elimination of job stress,
• Fewer car trips,
• Spending less on alcohol and tobacco,
• More exercise and sleep and
• Home cooking instead of fast food.

Some of these not so trivial factoids can be read in Tyler Cowen's Recession Can Change a Way of  life in the NYTimes. Tyler Cowen is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

Have you felt healthier since being laid off? Add your coment

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