The Forces Driving Middle-Aged White People's 'Deaths Of Despair'
Middle-aged white people without college degrees are increasingly likely to die of suicide, or drug and alcohol abuse. The lack of a pathway to solid jobs is one reason why, two economists say.
In 2015, when researchers Ann Case and Angus Deaton discovered that death rates had been rising dramatically since 1999 among middle-aged white Americans, they weren't sure why people were dying younger, reversing decades of longer life expectancy.
Now the husband-and-wife economists say they have a better understanding of what's causing these "deaths of despair" by suicide, drugs and alcohol.
In a follow-up to their , they say that a lack of steady, well-paying jobs for whites without college degrees has caused pain, distress and social dysfunction to build up over time. The mortality rate for that group, ages 45 to 54, increased
