Are recessions really good for your health? Evidence from Canada

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between business cycle fluctuations and health in the Canadian context, given that a procyclical relationship between mortality rates and unemployment rates has already been well established in the U.S. literature. Using a fixed effects model and provincial data over the period 1977-2009, we estimate the effect of unemployment rates on Canadian age and gender specific mortality rates. Consistent with U.S. results, there is some evidence of a strong procyclical pattern in the mortality rates of middle-aged Canadians. We find that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate lowers the predicted mortality rate of individuals in their 30s by nearly 2 percent. In contrast to the U.S. data, we do not find a significant cyclical pattern in the mortality rates of infants and seniors.

The Short-Run and Long-Run Relationships between Mortality and the Business Cycle in Canada

“…They use a time series model and largely confirm the results of Ruhm [1]. In this paper, we take a different approach from that of Arizumi and Schirle [14] in analyzing the relationship between the business cycle (via the unemployment rate) and mortality, at the aggregate level as well as by gender. First, we use an error correction model, which allows us to specifically assess the short-run and long-run impacts of unemployment rate on mortality.…”

“…(Arizumi and Schirle [14] use data from 1975 onwards. This is because they consider the impact on mortality by age; data is only available from 1975 (Statistics Canada only publically provides data from 1991 until now).)…”

“…This is because they consider the impact on mortality by age; data is only available from 1975 (Statistics Canada only publically provides data from 1991 until now).) Lastly, we make sure to control for health expenditure per capita and income per capita in our model, as both have been increasing over time; no controls are utilized in Arizumi and Schirle [14].…”

Avrupada ekonomik kriz ve özkıyım istatistikleri

“…On the contrary, other authors suggested that recessions actually improve several health indicators (62)(63)(64). In the past, economic crises have been correlated with increases in suicides, like the Great depression (20,22,65,66), the Russian crisis in the early 1990s (32) (although the data are not published reliably) and the Asian economic crisis in the late 1990s (25,26).…”

Assessment of the Adequacy of Russia’s Information Resources to the Health Criteria of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

“…Ruhm, 2003;Economou et al 2008;Miller et al 2009;Ariizumi and Schirle, 2012). The studies consistently show that economic downturns are associated with a fall in mortality but the strength of the relationship differs between countries and over time.…”