Economic cycles and health. Towards a sociological understanding of the impact of the recession on health and illness

Abstract

Does the impact of large scale and long term unemployment have a negative influence on the health of a community? This paper critically examines research evidence at a macro and micro level of analysis debating the major theoretical issues, and the difficulty in establishing causality between changing mortality patterns over time and fluctuations in the business cycle. It is argued that macro analysis cannot stand on its own as an explanation but needs to be combined with an understanding of the career progression of the unemployed and the stages of psychological transition that occur to bridge the gap between macro and micro environments, and give some understanding of the changes in health status that may be observed in a population following a period of unemployment or economic uncertainty. Both quantitative and qualitative research suggest that not only is the health of those actually at risk but also their immediate family and the community at large during a recession. From this proposition two significant factors emerge in the literature which could explain the association between unemployment rates and changing patterns of mortality. Firstly stress is highlighted in most of the research reviewed, and could be the linking factor for material reasons and also those of social well being. Secondly health status, like that of unemployment is not equally shared in the United Kingdom community, but rather shouldered on a class basis, the most consistent finding being an inverse relationship between economic status and mortality placing the burden squarely on the lower social economic groups who are most vulnerable to unemployment. Taken together all the evidence suggests the inferences made from the macro statistics despite the difficulties in demonstrating causality, suggesting a strong link between mortality rates and cycles of economic activity.