Mental Health Costs of Lockdowns: Evidence from Age-Specific Curfews in Turkey

Onur Altindag, Bilge Erten and Pinar Keskin ()

No 14281, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using a strict, age-specific lockdown order for adults aged 65 and older in Turkey, we examine the mental health consequences of an extended period of tight mobility restrictions on senior adults. Adopting a regression discontinuity design, we find that the curfew-induced decline in mobility substantially worsened mental health outcomes, including somatic and nonsomatic symptoms of mental distress (approximately 0.2 standard deviation). Exploring potential channels, we document an increase in social and physical isolation, with no evidence of robust changes in labor market outcomes or intrahousehold conflict for this subpopulation.

Keywords: COVID-19; mental health; lockdown; regression discontinuity; Turkey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 I31 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 68 pages
Date: 2021-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-ara, nep-hea and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published - published in: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2022, 14 (2), 320–343

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Journal Article: Mental Health Costs of Lockdowns: Evidence from Age-Specific Curfews in Turkey (2022)
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