Poverty, Depression, and Anxiety: Causal Evidence and Mechanisms

Matthew Ridley, Gautam Rao, Frank Schilbach and Vikram H. Patel

No 27157, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Why are people living in poverty disproportionately affected by mental illness? We review the interdisciplinary evidence of the bi-directional causal relationship between poverty and common mental illnesses – depression and anxiety – and the underlying mechanisms. Research shows that mental illness reduces employment and therefore income and that psychological interventions generate economic gains. Similarly, negative economic shocks cause mental illness, and anti-poverty programs, such as cash transfers, improve mental health. A crucial step toward the design of effective policies is to better understand the mechanisms underlying these causal effects.

JEL-codes: D03 I1 I3 O1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-pke
Note: DEV EH
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (131)

Published as Matthew Ridley & Gautam Rao & Frank Schilbach & Vikram Patel, 2020. "Poverty, depression, and anxiety: Causal evidence and mechanisms," Science, vol 370(6522).

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