Who Cares about Stock Market Booms and Busts? Evidence from Data on Mental Health

Anita Ratcliffe and Karl Taylor

No 6956, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between share prices and mental health, exploiting the availability of interview dates in the British Household Panel Survey to match the level and changes in the FTSE All Share price index to respondents over the period 1991-2008. We present evidence that the level, 6 month and yearly changes in the share price index are associated with better mental health while greater uncertainty, as measured by index volatility, is associated with poorer mental well-being. Finally, using several proxies of investor status, we find little evidence that this relationship is confined to holders of equity based assets, suggesting that the observed relationship does not arise via wealth effects. Instead, it appears as though share prices matter to mental health because they perform the role of economic barometer.

Keywords: share prices; economic conditions; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 26 pages
Date: 2012-10
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Oxford Economic Papers, 2015, 67 (3), 826-845

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Journal Article: Who cares about stock market booms and busts? Evidence from data on mental health (2015)
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