AS job losses mount and bailout costs run into the trillions, the social costs of the economic downturn become clearer. The primary question, to be sure, is what can be done to shorten or alleviate these bad times. But there is also a broader set of questions about how this downturn is changing our lives, in ways beyond strict economics.

    All recessions have cultural and social effects, but in major downturns the changes can be profound. The Great Depression, for example, may be regarded as a social and cultural era as well as an economic one. And the current crisis is also likely to enact changes in various areas, from our entertainment habits to our health.

    First, consider entertainment. Many studies have shown that when a job is harder to find or less lucrative, people spend more time on self-improvement and relatively inexpensive amusements. During the Depression of the 1930s, that meant listening to the radio and playing parlor and board games. These stay-at-home tendencies persisted through at least the 1950s.

    In today’s recession, we can also expect to turn to less expensive activities — and maybe to keep those habits for years. They may take the form of greater interest in free content on the Internet and the simple pleasures of a daily walk, instead of expensive vacations and N.B.A. box seats.

    In any recession, the poor suffer the most pain. But in cultural influence, it may well be the rich who lose the most in the current crisis. This downturn is bringing a larger-than-usual decline in consumption by the wealthy.

    The shift has been documented by Jonathan A. Parker and Annette Vissing-Jorgenson, finance professors at Northwestern University, in their recent paper, “Who Bears Aggregate Fluctuations and How? Estimates and Implications for Consumption Inequality.” Of course, people who held much wealth in real estate or stocks have taken heavy losses. But most important, the paper says, the labor incomes of high earners have declined more than in past recessions, as seen in the financial sector.

    Popular culture’s catering to the wealthy may also decline in this downturn. We can expect a shift away from the lionizing of fancy restaurants, for example, and toward more use of public libraries. Such changes tend to occur in downturns, but this time they may be especially pronounced.

    Recessions and depressions, of course, are not good for mental health. But it is less widely known that in the United States and other affluent countries, physical health seems to improve, on average, during a downturn. Sure, it’s stressful to miss a paycheck, but eliminating the stresses of a job may have some beneficial effects. Perhaps more important, people may take fewer car trips, thus lowering the risk of accidents, and spend less on alcohol and tobacco. They also have more time for exercise and sleep, and tend to choose home cooking over fast food.

    In a 2003 paper, “Healthy Living in Hard Times,” Christopher J. Ruhm, an economist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, found that the death rate falls as unemployment rises. In the United States, he found, a 1 percent increase in the unemployment rate, on average, decreases the death rate by 0.5 percent.

    David Potts studied the social history of Australia in the 1930s in his 2006 book, “The Myth of the Great Depression.” Australia’s suicide rate spiked in 1930, but overall health improved and death rates declined; after 1930, suicide rates declined as well.

    While he found in interviews that many people reminisced fondly about those depression years, we shouldn’t rush to conclude that depressions are happy times.

    Many of their reports are likely illusory, as documented by the Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert in his best-selling book “Stumbling on Happiness.” According to Professor Gilbert, people often have rosy memories of very trying periods, which may include extreme poverty or fighting in a war.

    But this downturn will likely mean a more prudent generation to come. That is implied by the work of two professors, Ulrike Malmendier of the University of California, Berkeley, and Stefan Nagel of the Stanford Business School, in a 2007 paper, “Depression Babies: Do Macroeconomic Experiences Affect Risk-Taking?”

    A generation that grows up in a period of low stock returns is likely to take an unusually cautious approach to investing, even decades later, the paper found. Similarly, a generation that grows up with high inflation will be more cautious about buying bonds decades later.

    IN other words, today’s teenagers stand less chance of making foolish decisions in the stock market down the road. They are likely to forgo some good business opportunities, but also to make fewer mistakes.

    When all is said and done, something terrible has happened in the United States economy, and no one should wish for such an event. But a deeper look at the downturn, and the social changes it is bringing, shows a more complex picture.

    In addition to trying to get out of the recession — our first priority — many of us will be making do with less and relying more on ourselves and our families. The social changes may well be the next big story of this recession.

    Tyler Cowen is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

    dangshiyerenshushangshenghejiushizijindadaowanyijideshihou，jingjishuaituisuozaochengdeshehuisunshigengjiaminglele。womenyaoquedingdezuizhuyaodewentishiwomenyinggaizuoshenmelaisuoduanzhegezaogaodeshiqihuozhejiangdizaogaodechengdu。danshizheliyouyixieguanyushuaituizenyanggaibianwomendeshenghuodegengjiaguangfandewenti
，zhezhonggaibianchaoyueleyangedejingjixueguilv。

    suoyoudeshuaituidouyouwenhuaheshehuideyingxiang，danshizaidadeshuaituizhongzhezhonggaibianshishenkede。birushuodaxiaotiaoshiqi，zaibeirenweishiyigejingjishiqidetongshiyebeirenweishiyigeshehuihewenhuadeshiqi。bingqiemuqiandeweijihuidaozhizaihenduolingyufalvtiaoguidegaibian，congwomendeyulexiguandaowomendejiankang。

    首先，考慮到娛樂。很多研究表明當工作更難找或者不賺錢的時候，人們花費更多的時間用於自我的提高和花費少的消遣。在20世紀30年代的大蕭條時期
，那意味著聽收音機和在客廳玩些棋牌類遊戲。這種在家裏玩的傾向至少持續到上世紀50年代。

    在今天的衰退中，我們也希望轉向一些花費少的活動——並且或許會保留這些習慣很多年。他們或許會以對互聯網上的免費內容感興趣和每天散步的不同樂趣為形式，用以取代昂貴的旅行和NBA門票。

    這種轉變已經被西北大學的金融學教授Jonathan A. Parker 和 Annette Vissing-Jorgenson在他們最近的報告“誰能承受所有的波動和怎樣承受這樣的波動？消費不等式的估計和推理”zhengmingle。dangran
，zaifangdichanhegupiaoshichangtourujuecaifuderenmenchengshoulejudadesunshi。danshigengweizhongyaodeshi
，zhefenbaogaoshuo，jiujinrongbumenlaikan
，gaoshourujiecengdelaodongshourujianshaodebilicishuaituizhongjianshaodegengduo。

    zaizhecishuaituizhongliuxingcanyinwenhuadexiaofeiyehuijianshao。womenkeyiyujianjiejiaopengyoudechangsuojianghuicongzaigaodangcanguanzhuanyidaobirushuogonggongtushuguanzheyangdedifang。zheyangdegaibianjianghuizaishuaituizhongfasheng
，danshizhecizhezhonggaibianjiangtebiemingxian。

    jingjishuaituihebujingqiduiyuxinlijiankangdangranshibulide。danshizheyidianzaimeiguoheqitafuyuguojiameiyoubeipubianrenshidao，zaiyibanqingkuangxia，zaishuaituizhongrendeshentijiankangjianghuigaijin。dangran，xinshuijiangdishiyouyalide
，danshixiaochuzhezhonggongzuozhongdeyalihuiyouyixieyouyidexiaoguo。huoxugengweizhongyaodeshi
，renmenkenenggengshaochengchelvxing，yincijiangdilejiaotongshigudefengxian，erqierenmengengshaohejiuhechouyan。tamenyeyougengduodeshijianjinxingyundongheshuimian
，bingqiegengqingxiangyuzaijializuofanerbushikuaican。

    在2003年的一份報告“在困難時期健康的生活”中，Christopher J. Ruhm

，北卡羅萊大學格林斯伯勒分校的一位經濟學家發現
，當失業率上升的時候死亡率下降。在美國
，他發現，失業率平均每增長1%，死亡率就下降0.5%。

    David Potts在他2006年的一本書《大蕭條的神話》中研究了在20世紀30年代澳大利亞的社會曆史。1930年澳大利亞的自殺率升高
，但是總體的健康狀況改善而且死亡率下降
；1930年以後
，自殺率也下降了。

    當他在訪談中發現很多人深情的懷念那個蕭條的年代，我們當然不能草率的得出大蕭條是個幸福年代這樣的結論。

    他們的很多報告很可能是虛幻的，就如同哈佛大學精神學家丹尼爾吉爾伯特在他的暢銷書《被幸福絆倒》中證明的那樣。根據吉爾伯特教授的理論，人們對於困難時期往往有著美好的回憶，這些困難時期可能包括極度的貧窮和戰爭。

    但是這次衰退很可能意味著一個更加節儉的時代來臨了。這點被兩位教授的研究所暗示了，北卡羅來納大學伯克利分校的Ulrike Malmendier 和斯坦福商學院的Stefan Nagel ，在2007年的一篇論文“蕭條的前身:宏觀經濟的經曆影響到風險承擔了嗎
？”

    這篇論文發現
，在股票市場低收益的時代中成長起來的一代在投資上會更加謹慎，就算是10年以後。相似的，在通貨膨脹中成長起來的一代10年後會更加謹慎的購買債券。

    換huan句ju話hua說shuo，今jin天tian的de青qing少shao年nian在zai將jiang來lai某mou個ge時shi候hou在zai股gu票piao市shi場chang中zhong做zuo出chu愚yu蠢chun決jue定ding的de機ji會hui不bu大da。他ta們men可ke能neng會hui放fang棄qi一yi些xie好hao的de商shang機ji，但dan是shi也ye會hui更geng少shao的de犯fan錯cuo誤wu。

    當(dang)所(suo)有(you)的(de)東(dong)西(xi)都(dou)被(bei)說(shuo)了(le)和(he)做(zuo)了(le)之(zhi)後(hou)

，美(mei)國(guo)經(jing)濟(ji)中(zhong)一(yi)些(xie)很(hen)嚴(yan)重(zhong)的(de)事(shi)情(qing)已(yi)經(jing)發(fa)生(sheng)了(le)，並(bing)且(qie)沒(mei)有(you)人(ren)想(xiang)看(kan)到(dao)這(zhe)樣(yang)一(yi)個(ge)事(shi)件(jian)。但(dan)是(shi)更(geng)深(shen)入(ru)的(de)看(kan)這(zhe)次(ci)衰(shuai)退(tui)和(he)它(ta)所(suo)帶(dai)來(lai)的(de)社(she)會(hui)變(bian)遷(qian)的(de)話(hua)，它(ta)又(you)呈(cheng)現(xian)一(yi)個(ge)更(geng)複(fu)雜(za)的(de)畫(hua)麵(mian)。

    在努力擺脫衰退（這是我們首先要做的）的de同tong時shi，我wo們men中zhong的de大da多duo數shu人ren要yao用yong更geng少shao的de錢qian生sheng活huo並bing且qie更geng多duo的de以yi來lai自zi己ji和he我wo們men的de家jia人ren。這zhe種zhong社she會hui變bian革ge可ke能neng成cheng為wei這zhe次ci衰shuai退tui中zhong的de下xia一yi個ge特te大da新xin聞wen。