Cross-Border Mental Health Spillovers of War

Lisbeth la Cour, Sanne Kruse-Becher, Birthe Larsen and Martin Jepsen Mejlgaard ()
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Martin Jepsen Mejlgaard: Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School, Postal: Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics, Porcelaenshaven 16 A. 1. floor, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark

No 12-2026, Working Papers from Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics

Abstract: Wars generate economic costs beyond conflict zones through diaspora networks. We examine how war onset in immigrants’ countries of origin affects mental health in Denmark using nationwide administrative registers and a within-individual event-study design. Psychotropic medication use rises persistently following war onset, particularly among non-citizens, parents, and individuals with a same-origin spouse, but only when conflicts persist. Higher local co-ethnic concentration attenuates these effects. We further show that war onset increases publicly financed pharmaceutical expenditure, implying measurable fiscal costs for immigrant receiving countries. These findings reveal important cross-border welfare spillovers of armed conflict.

Keywords: International migration; War; Mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 F51 I10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 59 pages
Date: 2026-06
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