You’re Not Going to Believe This
Recessions Lead to Longer Life Expectancy?
Here’s My Take On It
With the health of the economy a bit ‘under the weather’, researchers and economists have been looking long and hard for the silver lining. Three MIT and University of Chicago researchers think they may have found it.
Their recently published study - Lives vs. Livelihoods - evaluates the positive impacts of economic downturns, and it concludes that recessions lead to longer life expectancies; especially amongst those 64 years of age and older.
The headline statistic reads: “During the Great Recession, from 2007 to 2009, age-adjusted mortality rates among Americans dropped 0.5% for every 1% jump in an area's unemployment rate. The more joblessness, the longer people lived…”
The researchers go on to connect the dots between economic inactivity and reduced air pollution. Essentially, they’re claiming that a rise in layoffs leads to less drivers on the roads and less factory smoke in the air; both of which result in less greenhouse gases. And with better air quality, people live longer.
Now here’s my take: Although I do believe that there’s light at the end of every tunnel - even in the dark times of a financial recession - I feel that this is an obvious case of correlation, rather than causation.
Sure, when people don’t have to go into work there’s less cars on the road and less emissions in the air. But people losing their jobs isn’t the answer to immortality. Furthermore, bringing the economy to a holt is unsustainable.
Our north star should be a thriving economy that allows for a healthy work-life balance. It goes without saying that this is easier said than done. But through innovation and well-crafted fiscal policy, we can work closer towards the center of the Enterprise vs Longevity venn diagram.
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