Recession and Mortality

Author: Dominic Cortis

A preliminary report published in the Lancet [2] this month discusses the outcomes of the 2008 recession on suicides and road fatalities. A previous article [1] had shown higher rates of suicides among under sixty-fives and a lower rate of road-traffic fatalities are associated with higher unemployment during economic crises over the past three decades.

The time series graphs shown, indexed on 2007, display unemployment and suicides from 2000 to 2009. These display an improvement in suicides and unemployment up to 2007 and a deterioration in both rates in 2008 and 2009. On the other hand, road-traffic fatalities have decreased due to lower car use during recessions.