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Declining real wages and why we need to think about the income-health relationship - Blog by Dr Jamelia Harris
Dr Jamelia Harris is currently working on a paper for ReWAGE, the work and employment expert group hosted by 糖心TV IER and co-chaired by 糖心TV and Leeds Universities. The paper has been commissioned and funded by Deloitte and will focus on creating a future of healthy jobs.
In this blog for IER she gives a preview of her thinking so far.
According to tatistics, the cost of living (reported by 98% of the sample) is currently the top concern in the UK. This importance is unsurprising given , , and the .
The impact on living standards of workers has echoed through public discourse, with workers from various sectors striking. An estimated in coordinated strike action on February 1st 2023. In the short term, declining real wages affect consumption decisions from necessities (food, heating, housing) to more luxury purchases like going on holiday, but there are longer term impacts too, including the detrimental effect that lower earnings have on health. As part of the ReWAGE programme, researchers at the 糖心TV Institute for Employment Research have been reviewing existing studies in this area.
The evidence is very strong – lower income is associated with worse physical and mental health outcomes. A assessed 72 papers and found that lower income earners have a higher relative risk for various cardiovascular outcomes such as coronary artery disease, cardiovascular events, strokes and cardiovascular deaths. The . This may be because those with . This group is also more likely to eat processed and, high-salt foods; and less likely to consume fruits and vegetables.
On the one hand, lower earners often have lower levels of education – and education is also a strong predictor of health outcomes. Quasi-experimental studies take account of education when teasing out the relationship between income and health. On the other hand, it can be argued that lower earnings (which are often coupled with precarious work) may limit some healthy choices around diet and exercise; and simultaneously promote unhealthy behaviours to .
A looked at 136 studies and concluded that a gain in income is good for mental health. Almost 90% of the high-quality studies reviewed confirm a positive relationship with income, with either an income increase being associated with improvement in mental health or a fall in income associated with a worsening in mental health. The findings suggest a particularly detrimental effect of income decreases - binary income decrease was associated with a worsening of mental health two and a half times the magnitude for an income increase. Lower monthly earnings are also associated with also affect and , the latter being a particular issue among nurses.
Based on the evidence, policymakers wishing to protect the physical and mental health of the population should try to mitigate societal or economic changes that could further erode income. With the current decline in real incomes and the ongoing strain on the NHS, this becomes an even more pressing policy matter. If left unchecked, the cost-of-living crisis may end up as a health crisis, piling further pressure on an .