Anne Case and Angus Deaton
Hundreds of thousands of working-class Americans are dying from suicide, alcohol, and drug overdoses. This unprecedented decline in life expectancy reveals how the modern economy has increasingly failed many people without a college degree.
Life expectancy for Americans without a college degree has fallen dramatically over the past two decades due to surging rates of suicide, drug overdoses, and alcohol-related liver disease.
The loss of stable, well-paying jobs for less-educated workers eroded crucial social pillars like marriage, community involvement, and religious participation, creating a vacuum of purpose and connection.
America's uniquely expensive, employer-sponsored healthcare system depresses working-class wages and forces companies to outsource low-skilled labor to avoid exorbitant insurance premiums.