Nov 4, 2024 Story by: Editor
A new study highlights the severe impact of the cost-of-living crisis on discrimination and health outcomes for Black people in the U.K., finding that rising interest and bank rates have contributed to declines in both general and mental health, alongside an increase in discrimination.
Published in the journal Ethnic and Racial Studies during the U.K.’s Black History Month, this study from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is the first to examine how interest and bank rates during the cost-of-living crisis affect Black individuals’ health.
Researchers from ARU initially distributed participation forms during social events for Black History Month in London in 2021. They followed up with an electronic questionnaire between October and December of that year, collecting additional data in 2022 and 2023. In total, 264 participants took part in 2021, 235 in 2022, and 223 in 2023, producing 722 data observations across the study period.
Findings from the study reveal that during the 2022/2023 cost-of-living crisis, discrimination against Black people increased by 3.75%, general health declined by 4.45%, and mental health worsened by 5.62%.
Instances of discrimination correlated with a 26.4% deterioration in general health and a 27.1% decline in mental health. Inflation rose from 2.49% in 2021 to 7.9% in 2022, before easing to 6.83% in 2023, while the Bank of England’s base interest rate climbed from 0.11% in 2021 to 1.58% in 2022 and reached 4.81% in 2023. Among participants, inflation was associated with a 2.9% rise in discrimination against Black people, while the bank rate hike corresponded to a 1.1% increase in discrimination.
Rising inflation also linked to a 2.3% reduction in general health and a 2.5% drop in mental health, while higher bank rates were associated with a 1.9% decline in general health and a 2.3% decline in mental health.
Nick Drydakis, Professor of Economics at Anglia Ruskin University and lead author of the study, commented, “The study provides critical insights into how discrimination is related to general and mental health outcomes within the Black community during the cost-of-living crisis.”
He added, “It was a time of great uncertainty for the majority of people living in the U.K. and is still having an impact today, but it is clear that it had a disproportionate impact on minority groups.”
Drydakis noted that during periods of economic and social stress, tensions between different communities often increase, especially when dominant groups feel their access to resources may be at risk, which can exacerbate prejudice and discrimination.
“The study underlines the need to work towards creating a more equal society and improving the well-being of everybody, particularly those who are most vulnerable,” he concluded. Source: Medical Xpress
