Question

Between 1890 and 2000, measures of health and well being of the American

population improved dramatically, and average wages and incomes seem to have

risen too. Using the American historical experience, give two reasons why economic

growth was not necessarily accompanied by improvements in the health of the

general population in the mid-19th century. Be sure to explain briefly how these factors mattered for well being.

What does the evidence on the cause of death tell us about this process?

Answer 1

The economic growth has not necessarily improved with the changes in health as can be clearly evident from the drastic decline in GDP due to the Great Economic Depression. On the other hand, population health did not decline and generally improved during 4 years of the Great Depression. Mortality decreased for all ages, however, the only exception was suicide mortality which increased by 2% during the economic depression.

One of the reasons why life expectancy increased during the great depression was that since during recessions, people generally have less work to do and thus are less stressed up in life. They get more time to sleep, and since they have less money, they spend less on lesser essential commodities like alcohol and tobacco. On the other hand, economic expansions lead to higher atmospheric pollution which in turn causes respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Economic expansion is also accompanied with increases in social isolation and decreases in social support, which typically occur with more working hours.