As I always believe, that every action has both- a positive and a negative side to it. So by that logic there has to be a positive side to recession too! Researchers are stating how with the ongoing global financial meltdown there is a rise in good health.
According to Professor Christopher Ruhm of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, when the economy weakens, his research indicates that mortality rates of all kinds fall. People also behave in a healthier manner- they smoke and drink less and they’re less likely to be obese. Suicides rise, but total mortality rates drop. People have more leisure time, exercise more and eat more healthily.
Am corroborating my comment with an abridged version of an article that appeared on February 1, 2009 in The New York times--- Recession Can Change a Way of Life - By TYLER COWEN
According to Professor Christopher Ruhm of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, when the economy weakens, his research indicates that mortality rates of all kinds fall. People also behave in a healthier manner- they smoke and drink less and they’re less likely to be obese. Suicides rise, but total mortality rates drop. People have more leisure time, exercise more and eat more healthily.
Am corroborating my comment with an abridged version of an article that appeared on February 1, 2009 in The New York times--- Recession Can Change a Way of Life - By TYLER COWEN
As job losses mount and bailout costs run into the trillions, the social costs of the economic downturn become clearer. But there is also a broader set of questions about how this downturn is changing our lives, in ways beyond strict economics.
All recessions have cultural and social effects, but in major downturns the changes can be profound. First, consider entertainment. Many studies have shown that when a job is harder to find or less lucrative, people spend more time on self-improvement and relatively inexpensive amusements. During the Depression of the 1930s, that meant listening to the radio and playing parlour and board games, sometimes in lieu of a glamourous night on the town. These stay-at-home tendencies persisted through at least the 1950s.
In today’s recession, we can also expect to turn to less expensive activities — and maybe to keep those habits for years. They may take the form of greater interest in free content on the Internet and the simple pleasures of a daily walk, instead of expensive vacations. In any recession, the poor suffer the most pain. But in cultural influence, it may well be the rich who lose the most in the current crisis. This downturn is bringing a larger-than-usual decline in consumption by the wealthy.
Popular culture’s catering to the wealthy may also decline in this downturn. We can expect a shift away from the lionizing of fancy restaurants, for example, and toward more use of public libraries. Such changes tend to occur in downturns, but this time they may be especially pronounced.
Recessions and depressions, of course, are not good for mental health. But it is less widely known that in affluent countries, physical health seems to improve, on average, during a downturn. Sure, it’s stressful to miss a paycheck, but eliminating the stresses of a job may have some beneficial effects. Perhaps more important, people may take fewer car trips, thus lowering the risk of accidents, and spend less on alcohol and tobacco. They also have more time for exercise and sleep, and tend to choose home cooking over fast food.
In addition to trying to get out of the recession — our first priority — many of us will be making do with less and relying more on ourselves and our families. The social changes may well be the next big story of this recession.
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Vikram
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1 comment:
crises have both negative and positive aspects. your blog appropriately captured this attribute. nice reading.
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