Social Determinants of Health - Unemployment

That unemployment gives rise to social insecurity and psychological stress is well recognised. Fears and uncertainties are known to cause anxiety related illnesses. As such, whatever be the path of development and governance chosen, the central objective should be the maximisation of employment opportunities in the economy. The views of proponents as well as the opponents of market reform policies relating to the issue of unemployment in the light of its effects on health therefore merit discussion.

Short term unemployment becomes inevitable when the state dominated industries or economies are liberalised and restructured. The proponents of increased government’s role for mitigating the ill-health effects of unemployment suggest that one way of increasing the employment opportunities is to adopt measures by the state for smoothening out the highs and lows of the business cycle. The opponents of increased government role however argue against this approach and cite experiments world over that have revealed that such an approach would have a stifling effect on economic output, employment prospects and human health.