Confinement policies: controlling contagion without compromising mental health

Ariadna García-Prado (), Paula González () and Yolanda F. Rebollo-Sanz
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Ariadna García-Prado: Universidad Pública de Navarra
Paula González: Universidad Pablo de Olavide

No 24.03, Working Papers from Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics

Abstract: A growing literature shows that confinement policies used by governments to slow COVID-19 transmission have negative impacts on mental health, but the differential effects of individual policies on mental health remain poorly understood. We used data from the COVID-19 questionnaire of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which focuses on populations aged 50 and older, and the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker for 28 countries to estimate the effects of eight different confinement policies on three outcomes of mental health: insomnia, anxiety and depression. We applied robust machine learning methods to estimate the effects of interest. Our results indicate that closure of schools and public transportation, restrictions on domestic and international travel, and gathering restrictions did not worsen the mental health of older populations in Europe. In contrast, stay at home policies and workplace closures aggravated the three health outcomes analyzed. Based on these findings, we close with a discussion of which policies should be implemented, intensified, or relaxed to control the spread of the virus without compromising the mental health of older populations.

Keywords: COVID-19; mental health; confinement policies; older populations; Europe; robust machine learning methods. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-big and nep-hea
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