That's a common fallacy people assume is true. I mean after all if the economy is bad that means more people starving and more crime right? During the *Great Depression* the biggest economic collapse in US history people starved to death at an astonishing rate right? Well actually the mortality rate was about the same. In fact there is no correlation between in increase in mortality and economic collapse in the modern age.

People associate economic recessions with increased number of deaths, historically this has not been true.

Here is the data I referenced, I specifically limited it to recessions/depressions in developed and wealthy nations:

[Smithsonian: Great Depression Had Little Effect on Death Rates](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/great-depression-had-little-effect-on-death-rates-46713514/)

Another analyzing the mortality rate for European countries in the 08 recession, showing that mortality rate did not increase

[Population health and the economy: Mortality and the Great Recession in Europe.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28345272)

Another this time for the US

[Did the Great Recession affect mortality rates in the metropolitan United States? Effects on mortality by age, gender and cause of death](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318603796_Did_the_Great_Recession_affect_mortality_rates_in_the_metropolitan_United_States_Effects_on_mortality_by_age_gender_and_cause_of_death)

Another by the Center for Economic and Policy Research

[Economic crises and mortality ](https://voxeu.org/article/economic-crises-and-mortality)


Lastly, [here is a graph showing morality rates compared to unemployement.](https://voxeu.org/sites/default/files/image/FromMay2014/ruhm%20fig1%2028%20oct.png) Notice how the peeks are inverse? When unemployment is high, mortality is low. This is primarily because there are less workplace accidents and less traffic deaths, also a few of the studies above touched on there being less cardiovascular deaths which may come from a reduced income resulting in less gorging/eating out. That is the crux of all these economic studies which have come to the conclusion that for modern recessions there is no increase in the morality rate.

Its one of those things we view as common sense so we never seek out the data only to find out our preconceptions were wrong. Recessions are horrible so they must increase the number of deaths right? Well the hard data has never supported that.