Tamkins cites several studies that show that, in the past, mortality dropped and longevity went up during hard times. She focused much of her discussion on the Great Depression — what she describes as "the mother of all economic bad times" — but she observed that the same has been shown to be true, at least in terms of mortality, in regard to recessions in the 1980s and 1990s (obviously, it is still a little early to be reaching conclusions about longevity).
Researchers estimate that around that time, a year with a 5 percent drop in the gross domestic product was associated with a 1.9–year gain in life expectancy, while a 5 percent rise in the GDP lowered life expectancy by about one to two months.
During recessions, Tamkins writes,
- People tend to smoke less.
- People tend to drink less.
- People tend to drive less.
- People tend to eat out less.
Of course, people didn't know nearly as much about the ill effects of smoking during the Great Depression as they do today. Prohibition was still in effect in the first years of the Depression so it's hard to make blanket assertions about drinking habits during that period. Also, in those days, fewer people owned cars.
I wasn't alive during the Great Depression so I don't know how much dining out was affected, but my guess is that it was considered something of a luxury.
Another contributing factor, apparently, is that, during hard times, people do healthy things that they can control, like eating better and exercising. Well, some people do.
Tamkins acknowledges that "[s]uicides did increase during the Great Depression, but they made up less than 2 percent of deaths during that time."
Well, the monthly employment report comes out tomorrow. We'll find out then how many more folks can expect to live longer — and poorer — lives, thanks to the economy.
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