Has Subjective General Health Declined with the Economic Crisis? A Comparison across European Countries

This note examines whether subjective general health in Europe has changed since the onset of the economic crisis. Subjective general health for Ireland, Spain and Portugal is compared before and after the onset of the recession. Two other European economies, Germany and United Kingdom, are also examined. The change in the proportion of respondents reporting good or very good health is also plotted against the change in the unemployment rate over the period 2007-2012. Subjective general health improves slightly in countries experiencing sharp recessions. Across European countries there is no link between changes in subjective general health and in unemployment: no evidence is found to suggest that the Great Recession has worsened morbidity in Europe.