Poverty, Depression, and Anxiety: Causal Evidence and Mechanisms / Matthew W. Ridley, Gautam Rao, Frank Schilbach, Vikram H. Patel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ridley, Matthew W.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Rao, Gautam.

Schilbach, Frank.

Patel, Vikram H.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w27157.

NBER working paper series no. w27157

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2020.

Summary:

Why are people living in poverty disproportionately affected by mental illness? We review the interdisciplinary evidence of the bi-directional causal relationship between poverty and common mental illnesses - depression and anxiety - and the underlying mechanisms. Research shows that mental illness reduces employment and therefore income and that psychological interventions generate economic gains. Similarly, negative economic shocks cause mental illness, and anti-poverty programs, such as cash transfers, improve mental health. A crucial step toward the design of effective policies is to better understand the mechanisms underlying these causal effects.

Notes:

Print version record

May 2020.