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Health Impacts of the Great Recession: a Critical Review

Current Epidemiology Reports volume 3, pages 81–91 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

The severity, sudden onset, and multipronged nature of the Great Recession (2007–2009) provided a unique opportunity to examine the health impacts of macroeconomic downturn. We comprehensively review empirical literature examining the relationship between the Recession and mental and physical health outcomes in developed nations. Overall, studies reported detrimental impacts of the Recession on health, particularly mental health. Macro- and individual-level employment- and housing-related sequelae of the Recession were associated with declining fertility and self-rated health, and increasing morbidity, psychological distress, and suicide, although traffic fatalities and population-level alcohol consumption declined. Health impacts were stronger among men and racial/ethnic minorities. Importantly, strong social safety nets in some European countries appear to have buffered those populations from negative health effects. This literature, however, still faces multiple methodological challenges, and more time may be needed to observe the Recession’s full health impact. We conclude with suggestions for future work in this field.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Michigan State University, 909 Fee Rd., Rm 601, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Claire Margerison-Zilko

  2. Department of Public Health, University of California, Merced, 5200 N. Lake Rd., Merced, CA, 95342, USA

    Sidra Goldman-Mellor

  3. General Internal Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 94305, USA

    April Falconi

  4. School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 545 University Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA

    Janelle Downing

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  1. Claire Margerison-Zilko
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Correspondence to Claire Margerison-Zilko.

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Claire Margerison-Zilko, Sidra Goldman-Mellor, April Falconi, and Janelle Downing declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Margerison-Zilko, C., Goldman-Mellor, S., Falconi, A. et al. Health Impacts of the Great Recession: a Critical Review. Curr Epidemiol Rep 3, 81–91 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-016-0068-6

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Keywords

  • Great Recession
  • Economy
  • Mental health
  • Mortality
  • Fertility
  • Health behavior