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The great divide: education, despair, and death

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  • Angus Deaton

    (Princeton University
    University of Southern California)

Abstract

There is a growing gap across many measures between the one-third of the U.S. that has a B.A. degree or higher and the other two-thirds. This is most starkly evident in declining life expectancy for adults in the latter group, driven in part by deaths of despair. Deaths of despair—from overdoses, suicide, and alcoholic liver disease—have spread from non-Hispanic whites to racial minorities. Preliminary evidence suggests that the gaps have widened in the pandemic, with the more educated having much lower mortality rates and experiencing sharp increases in the value of their wealth. Reversing these trends would likely require the re-emergence of good jobs for the less educated, but with the Democratic party becoming dominated by the better-educated and the decline of unions, it is difficult to see how beneficial policies will get adopted.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:buseco:v:57:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1057_s11369-022-00277-0
    DOI: 10.1057/s11369-022-00277-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Samuel H. Preston & Yana C. Vierboom & Mikko Myrskylä, 2023. "Socio-behavioral factors contributing to recent mortality trends in the United States," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2023-019, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    2. Chambers, Christopher P. & Ye, Siming, 2024. "Haves and have-nots: A theory of economic sufficientarianism," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    3. Hasan, Iftekhar & Krause, Thomas & Manfredonia, Stefano & Noth, Felix, 2022. "Banking market deregulation and mortality inequality," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 14/2022, Bank of Finland.
    4. Egbert Jongen & Jim Been & Koen Caminada & Heike Vethaak, 2024. "Labour market and income inequalities in the Netherlands, 1977–2022," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(3), pages 343-357, September.
    5. Samuel Preston & Yana Vierboom & Mikko Myrskylä, 2024. "Socio-behavioral factors contributing to recent mortality trends in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 51(7), pages 191-214.
    6. 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.
    7. Anderson, Kym, 2022. "Trade-related food policies in a more volatile climate and trade environment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    8. Enghin Atalay, 2024. "A twenty-first century of solitude? Time alone and together in the United States," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(1), pages 1-33, March.
    9. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 2023. "Accounting for the Widening Mortality Gap Between Adult Americans with and without a BA," NBER Working Papers 31236, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Anthony R. Bardo & Jason L. Cummings, 2023. "Life, Longevity, and the Pursuit of Happiness: The Role of Disability in Shaping Racial and Sex Disparities in Living a Long and Happy Life," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-26, August.
    11. Jieun Song & Sohyun Kang & Carol D. Ryff, 2023. "Unpacking Psychological Vulnerabilities in Deaths of Despair," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(15), pages 1-13, July.
    12. Lowenstein, Christopher, 2024. "“Deaths of despair” over the business cycle: New estimates from a shift-share instrumental variables approach," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Deaths of despair; B.A. degree; Education; Mortality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I0 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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