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Income insecurity and mental health in pandemic times

Author

Listed:
  • Dirk Foremny

    (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB)

  • Pilar Sorribas-Navarro

    (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB)

  • Judit Vall Castelló

    (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB & CRES-UPF)

Abstract

This paper provides novel evidence of the mental health effects of the Covid-19 outbreak. Between April 2020 and April 2022, we run four waves of a large representative survey in Spain, which we benchmark against a decade of pre-pandemic data. We document a large and sudden deterioration of mental health at the beginning of the pandemic, as the share of people reporting being depressed increased from 16% before the pandemic to 46% in April 2020. This effect is persistent over time, which translates into important and irreversible consequences, such as a surge in suicides. The effect is more pronounced for women, younger individuals and those with unstable incomes. Finally, using mediation analysis, event studies and machine learning techniques, we document the role of the labor market as an important driver of these effects, as women and the young are more exposed to unstable income sources.

Suggested Citation

  • Dirk Foremny & Pilar Sorribas-Navarro & Judit Vall Castelló, 2022. "Income insecurity and mental health in pandemic times," Working Papers 2022/07, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    • Handle: RePEc:ieb:wpaper:doc2022-07
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    File URL: https://ieb.ub.edu/en/publication/2022-07-income-insecurity-and-mental-health-in-pandemic-times/
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mental health; Gender; Inequality; Labor markets; Pandemic; Covid-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity

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