Russell Sage Research Examines Social Consequences of Recessions

Russell Sage Research Examines Social Consequences of Recessions

The Great Recession, as a new collection of research papers from the Russell Sage Foundation shows, generated a great deal of sadness.

In 2010, one year after the official end of the recession, reported happiness hit its lowest level since researchers first started recording the measure in the mid-1970s.

This shouldn’t be too surprising. During this time, home prices tanked, unemployment skyrocketed, and retirement accounts shriveled up. And many of the hardest hit families still haven’t recovered financially, leaving millions of households now more susceptible to the next downturn, not less...