Friday, March 24, 2017
Economic Shocks are More Likely to be Lethal in America
This article discusses that Americans without college educations have suffered financially for decades. However, in more recent times, there has actually been an increase in the middle-aged white morality rate. This has been increasing since 1999. The mortality rate of middle-aged white Americans is much higher than other countries such as France, Britain, Australia, Canada, Sweden, and Germany. In every five-year cohort of whites born since the 1940s, deaths from drugs, suicides, and alcohol have increased respectively. This is a clear issue. Recent trends in the income of households headed by white 50-54-year-olds mirror their mortality rates. It is suspected that income decreases and economic shifts such as decreased manufacturing job opportunities have played a large role in this epidemic. This seems to be a very complex issue that will be difficult to solve.
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5 comments:
This is an interesting article. It seems to reflect the importance of providing more comprehensive health care and support for these individuals, particularly mental health support. Also, career support and having their basic needs met may help reduce their stress.
This seems to me to be a problem with our health care system. Unsurprisingly the countries that have more affordable healthcare don't feel the same stresses about health care. Nor do they feel the need to self-medicate so frequently.
It's interesting that death of despair seems to also be related to the availability of guns. Countries where the lost manufacturing jobs that cause some of this despair don't have the same access that we do. So perhaps it isn't just healthcare that can make a difference in mortality rate but also gun control laws.
This is an extremely interesting (and worrisome) trend, that I believe speaks to a market failure of the provision of public goods. I agree that social services and access to more comprehensive welfare would go a long way to solving some of these problems. Instead of working to preserve inefficient jobs, the government should work towards a solution involving healthcare, retraining, and job placement. A more active labor market policy could go a long way in this case, as I do not foresee much success in working hard to maintain jobs in these sectors (in lieu of more efficient technology or practices).
This is an example of the disconnect between economic progress and social welfare. The most efficient outcome may not always be the best or most equitable. We really need to evaluate our priorities and focus on the welfare of our population.
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