There may be an upside to economic recessions, as health tends to improve for Americans during recessions. This is counterintuitive as traditional thinking suggests that economic development would lead to a better healthcare system and better health. During recessions, unemployment rates rise resulting in Americans working less. Recent studies suggest that “for every 1 percent increase in unemployment during recessions, we’re seeing a 0.5 percent drop in adult mortality rate.” This emphasizes the impact that working hours have on health. Losing your job can cause stress, but working fewer hours provides more time to participate in health conscious activities. Health has improved in every recession since the Great Depression (De Graaf and Batker
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However, aspects of health tends to improve during relatively short economic recessions. During good economic times, time has a higher value leading to people working longer hours. Working longer hours leads to higher stress levels and unhealthy practices such as exercising less. Similar patterns appear in developed and developing nations as the economy and the health of the population tend to be directly related. Economic downturns tend to improve medical issues that are easily preventable, such as obesity and diabetes. Social safety nets can help unemployed workers gain a better sense of social connection, which has a strong association with both physical and mental health. Recessions can also improve the health of infants, as unemployed parents are able to spend more time at home and bond with the child (Parker-Pope, 2008). Certain aspects of health tend to improve during economic …show more content…
The article begins by outlining certain aspects of health that improve during recessions, but then describes how loss of employment really hurts people in countries without strong social and medical safety nets already in place (Parker-Pope, 2008). However, moderately fewer working hours does appear to increase the health of populations. Instead of continuing to spend trillions of dollars on improving the healthcare system, perhaps a more proactive approach should be taken to treat the underlying cause of the poor health in America. Restrictions could be set in place limiting working hours, which in turn would improve health. In general, the article countered the reading, but both sources did agree that working fewer hours is good for
However, aspects of health tends to improve during relatively short economic recessions. During good economic times, time has a higher value leading to people working longer hours. Working longer hours leads to higher stress levels and unhealthy practices such as exercising less. Similar patterns appear in developed and developing nations as the economy and the health of the population tend to be directly related. Economic downturns tend to improve medical issues that are easily preventable, such as obesity and diabetes. Social safety nets can help unemployed workers gain a better sense of social connection, which has a strong association with both physical and mental health. Recessions can also improve the health of infants, as unemployed parents are able to spend more time at home and bond with the child (Parker-Pope, 2008). Certain aspects of health tend to improve during economic …show more content…
The article begins by outlining certain aspects of health that improve during recessions, but then describes how loss of employment really hurts people in countries without strong social and medical safety nets already in place (Parker-Pope, 2008). However, moderately fewer working hours does appear to increase the health of populations. Instead of continuing to spend trillions of dollars on improving the healthcare system, perhaps a more proactive approach should be taken to treat the underlying cause of the poor health in America. Restrictions could be set in place limiting working hours, which in turn would improve health. In general, the article countered the reading, but both sources did agree that working fewer hours is good for