Is unemployment really as deadly as coronavirus?
And, of course, there will be a lot of financial troubles for those who don’t die. But let’s just look at just the death rate.
The actual figure in academic research is a 37,000 increase for each percentage-point rise in the unemployment rate. It comes from a book called “Corporate Flight: The Causes and Consequences of Economic Dislocation” by Barry Bluestone, Bennett Harrison and Lawrence Baker.
“Corporate Flight” was published in 1982 and mainly had to do with companies moving operations overseas. I couldn’t reach Bluestone, Harrison or Baker, but last week I was able to contact Wade Thomas, who teaches economics and business at SUNY Oneonta and who quoted those figures in his own co-written 2005 book called “Economic Issues Today: Alternative Approaches.”
Here’s the paragraph from Thomas’ book that applies: “According to one study [the one by Bluestone et al.] a 1 percent increase in the unemployment rate will be associated with 37,000 deaths [including 20,000 heart attacks], 920 suicides, 650 homicides, 4,000 state mental hospital admissions and 3,300 state prison admissions.”
And in my opinion, the single worst casualty, The Constitution and our Rights.
On the North River 
Pingback: Just my opinion. | On the North River
37,000 per 1,000,000 people? 10,000,0000 people? 1% causes 37,000 more death’s is a worthless stat without the population size.
LikeLike
There’s a link to the original article, you could take a look at that. However the piece is from last Aug. and to the best of my understanding the suicide rates in every state have gotten worse.
Going bowling, I’ll see if you have another comment when I get back.
LikeLike