Pandemic Depression: COVID-19 and the Mental Health of the Self-Employed

Marco Caliendo, Daniel Graeber, Alexander Kritikos and Johannes Seebauer

No 2002, Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin from DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research

Abstract: We investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-employed people’s mental health. Using representative longitudinal survey data from Germany, we reveal differential effects by gender: whereas self-employed women experienced a substantial deterioration in their mental health, self-employed men displayed no significant changes up to early 2021. Financial losses are important in explaining these differences. In addition, we find larger mental health responses among self-employed women who were directly affected by government-imposed restrictions and bore an increased childcare burden due to school and daycare closures. We also find that self-employed individuals who are more resilient coped better with the crisis.

Keywords: Self-employment; COVID-19; mental health; gender; representative (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 I14 I18 J16 L26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: II, 65 p.
Date: 2022
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ent
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Pandemic Depression: COVID-19 and the Mental Health of the Self-Employed (2023)
Working Paper: Pandemic Depression: COVID-19 and the Mental Health of the Self-Employed (2022)
Working Paper: Pandemic Depression: COVID-19 and the Mental Health of the Self-Employed (2022)
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