Why do economic crises affect people’s physical health so differently? During the Swedish banking crisis suicide rates dropped, during the catastrophic great depression of the 1930s the health of Americans actually improved, but in the Russian crisis in the 1990s millions of men “disappeared” and in Greece HIV rates have increased by over 200% in the last two years.
These questions are looked at in depth in a new book, “The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills, and What We Can Do About It”, by Sanjay Basu, an epidemiologist at Stanford University, and David Stuckler, a political economist at the University of Oxford.
The authors explained that the global financial crisis had a devastating effect on the wealth on nations. However, few of us really know how it affected one of the most fundamental issues in human life – our mental and physical health.
The book, which according to Penguin Books is based on the authors’ own groundbreaking research, takes a detailed look at the daily lives of individuals affected by financial crises, including the Great Depression of the 1930s which swept across the globe, the financial and economic chaos of post-communist Russia, to the American foreclosure crisis which started in 2008.
Why do some societies’ health improve while others’ deteriorate during similar crises? The authors’ conclusions are both surprising and compelling, according to Penguin Books.
Even when faced with the worse case economic scenario, deteriorating health consequences are not inevitable, the authors explain. What really counts is how communities respond to the challenges of debt and market turmoil.
Politicians and leaders forever talk about a financial crisis’ effect on the nation’s economy, and possibly certain sociological consequences as well. However, most of them continue to ignore the effects on human health, which may be devastating.
Adopting harsh austerity measures and cutting vital health and social programs when citizens need them the most only serves to exacerbate an already serious problem. Unfortunately, in a misguided attempt to balance budgets and shore up financial markets, many politicians have turned financial crises into veritable health epidemics.
Basu Sanjay and Stuckler Davi put forward a fundamental proposition – Austerity is seriously bad for your health.
How can we prevent financial crises from becoming epidemics? The authors say that the answer lies in the strength of a community’s health and its social protection systems.
Countries with fairer and more equal societies tend to have a healthier “body economic”, the authors say.
If we want countries to survive economic crises in future without devastating their citizen’s physical and mental health, we need to acknowledge what hard data tell us – fairer and more equal societies fair better during crises, at least as far as human health is concerned.
The authors believe that sound alternative policies could help improve economies while protecting public health as well.
Responding to the latest global financial crisis with austerity has had a detrimental effect on the health of Europeans and Americans, with increased suicide rates as well as cases of infectious diseases as access to medicines and care declines, the authors say.
HIV rates in Greece have risen by over 200% since 2011. The authors blame the country’s slashing of its HIV prevention budget, plus extremely high youth unemployment which has driven many young people to abuse drugs.
In another report issued by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Altarum Institute, American health care spending has slowed down considerably over the last few years, with some of the lowest growth rates in over half a century. The authors believe that The Recession will continue to have lingering effects on health care spending in America for years to come.
“The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills, and What We Can Do About It”
Authors: Sanjay Basu & David Stuckler
Amazon.com, Inc., USA.
“The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills, and What We Can Do About It”
Authors: Sanjay Basu & David Stuckler
Penguin Books, UK.
Written by Christian Nordqvist