A bad economy can be good for your health

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.7 • 9.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2023

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When economist Chris Ruhm first got the results from his study on the possible connection between recession and health, he thought he had made a mistake. But time and time again, he got the same results, overturning a decade of previous economic findings. Today, how a nation's health relates to your own.

Related Episodes
Healthcare and economic despair

You can listen to an extended cut of Darian's interview with Christopher Ruhm by signing up for Planet Money+! (You'll hear stuff we couldn't fit into the regular episode, including what Ruhm thought might play out during COVID.) Planet Money+ gets you bonus content, sponsor-free episodes, and you get to support the work we do. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	NPR.
0:03.0	It's...
0:05.0	It's... It's...
0:07.0	It should be obvious.
0:12.0	It should be obvious.
0:13.0	Recessions bad. Economic booms good.
0:16.0	But if you look at people's physical health during booms and busts,
0:20.0	like whether they're more likely to die or not. You might re-evaluate that assumption.
0:26.0	Chris Rroom is a health economist who's spent a good part of his career looking into this very question.
0:31.0	And let me first add, I mean that intuition is so strong that even when results don't necessarily fit it,
0:39.0	people don't always believe them because it's just so counterintuitive.
0:44.0	This is the indicator from Planet Money.
0:45.8	I'm Darren Woods.
0:46.8	Today on the show, The Economics of Death.
0:49.3	What kinds of death goes up when the economy is doing well,
0:52.4	and when are we actually healthier?
0:54.5	It's all coming up after the break.
0:59.5	This message comes from NPR sponsor Barclays Corporate and Investment Bank.
1:03.6	Across the globe industries are transforming.
1:06.3	At Barclays they are helping businesses navigate change to stay ahead.
1:10.3	When you partner with Barclays they bring the power of their entire bank to deliver the insights, financial solutions, and global perspectives to help your business turn change into possibility.
1:21.0	Barclays Corporate and Investment Bank, Powering Possible.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.