Economic Upturns are Good for Your Heart but Watch out for Accidents

This paper explores the relationship between the regional unemployment rate and total and cause-specific mortality in Sweden during 1976-2005. Overall mortality is unrelated to changes in the unemployment rate, while the biggest cause of death (heart disease) decreases during economic upturns. At the same time other accidents, including job-related accidents, increase during economic upturns. Swedish evidence provides no support for the US papers which have found that short-term economic upturns are bad for your health in general.