Antidepressants for Economists and Business-School Researchers: An Introduction and Review

Aleksandra Katolik and Andrew J. Oswald
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Aleksandra Katolik: University of Warwick
Andrew J. Oswald: University of Warwick and IZA

CAGE Online Working Paper Series from Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE)

Abstract: The antidepressant pill is an important modern commodity. Its growing role in the world has been largely ignored by researchers in economics departments and business schools. Scholars may be unaware how many citizens and employees now take these pills. Here we review some of the social-science literature on the topic. We discuss research on the impact of advertising upon antidepressant consumption, the link between antidepressants and the human ‘midlife crisis’, and evidence on how antidepressants are connected to crime, suicide, and financial hardship. We argue that antidepressants will eventually have to be modelled as a new form of consumption that lies in the currently grey area between medicines and consumer goods. This topic demands scholarly and societal attention.

Keywords: Well-being; depression; medications; happiness. JEL Classification: I1; I120; I3; I310 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hap, nep-hea, nep-his, nep-ltv and nep-sog
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cge:wacage:338

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