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Earthquakes and Mental Health

Author

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  • Luisito Bertinelli

    (Department of Economics and Management, Université du Luxembourg)

  • clotilde Mahé

    (Universidad de los Andes in Columbia)

  • Eric Strobl

    (University of Bern)

Abstract

Earthquakes may seriously deteriorate mental health by generating fear and stress as a result of economic and human losses. However, mental health has also been found to improve as a result of greater social cohesion in affected communities after the event. We examine the short-run effects of earthquakes on a wide set of mental health outcomes in Ecuador. To this end, we combine hospital admissions, death records, and survey data with precise measures of local seismic activity to exploit the plausibly random spatial and temporal nature of earthquake intensity. We find that damaging earthquakes decrease the propensity to be admitted, the number of days of hospitalisation for mental and behavioural disorders, and deaths due to suicide. Estimates from nationally-representative surveys provide suggestive evidence of increased life satisfaction, trust, and religious observance, and thus provide a possible explanation for the fall in admissions and suicides after an earthquake.

Suggested Citation

  • Luisito Bertinelli & clotilde Mahé & Eric Strobl, 2021. "Earthquakes and Mental Health," DEM Discussion Paper Series 21-19, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:luc:wpaper:21-19
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10993/48427
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    Cited by:

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    2. Rayamajhee, Veeshan & Paudel, Jayash, 2024. "The social behavior of immigrants during natural disasters: Lessons from the United States," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 614-633.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Earthquake; Mental health; Ecuador.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • O54 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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