Citation

Case A, Deaton A. Annu. Rev. Econom. 2022; 14: 1-21.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Annual Reviews)

DOI

10.1146/annurev-economics-051520-015607

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Deaths of despair, morbidity, and emotional distress continue to rise in the United States, largely borne by those without a college degreethe majority of American adultsfor many of whom the economy and society are no longer delivering. Concurrently, all-cause mortality in the United States is diverging by education in a way not seen in other rich countries. We review the rising prevalence of pain, despair, and suicide among those without a bachelor's degree. Pain and despair created a baseline demand for opioids, but the escalation of addiction came from pharma and its political enablers. We examine the politics of despair, or how less-educated people have abandoned and been abandoned by the Democratic Party. Whereas healthier states once voted Republican in presidential elections, now the less-healthy states do. We review deaths during COVID-19, finding that mortality in 2020 maintained or exacerbated existing relative mortality differences between those with and without college degrees. © 2022 Annual Reviews Inc.. All rights reserved.

Language: en