The Great Divide: Education, Despair and Death

Anne Case and Angus Deaton

No 29241, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Deaths of despair, morbidity and emotional distress continue to rise in the US. The increases are largely borne by those without a four-year college degree—the majority of American adults. For many less-educated Americans, the economy and society are no longer providing the basis for a good life. Concurrently, all-cause mortality in the US is diverging by education—falling for the college-educated and rising for those without a degree—something not seen in other rich countries. We review the rising prevalence of pain, despair, and suicide among Americans without a BA. 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,” how less-educated people have abandoned and been abandoned by the Democratic Party. While healthier states once voted Republican in presidential elections, now the least-healthy states do. We review the evidence on whether or not deaths of despair have risen during the COVID pandemic. More broadly, excess mortality from COVID has not increased the ratio of all-cause mortality rates for those with and without a four-year degree, but has instead replicated the pre-existing mortality ratio.

JEL-codes: I0 J1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-hea and nep-isf
Note: AG EH POL
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published as Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 2022. "The Great Divide: Education, Despair, and Death," Annual Review of Economics, vol 14(1).
Published as Angus Deaton, 2022. "The great divide: education, despair, and death," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 57(4), pages 161-168, October.

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Journal Article: The Great Divide: Education, Despair, and Death (2022)
Journal Article: The great divide: education, despair, and death (2022)
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