Economic toll of deaths of despair.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on January 30 that US life expectancy at birth rose in 2018. This followed a decline in life expectancy in the years 2014 to 2017, caused by ‘deaths of despair’ among low-educated, white baby boomers, linked partly to escalating use of opioids. However, life expectancy and health for this segment of the population is not improving and their employment prospects are blighted by long-term economic restructuring and low labour mobility.
Anti-drug abuse policy will target synthetic opioids including fentanyl; these are a larger problem than natural and semi-synthetic opioids.
Geographically targetged policies could create opportunities for workers with obsolete skills in places with scant job prospects.
Geographically targeted policies have tended to be politically difficult to implement; the coming years will be no different.
Generating low-skilled service jobs outside metropolitan areas will challenge labour policy in coming decades.
Common root causes may drive deaths of despair higher in other nations, drawing more attention to well-being as a gauge of economic growth.
