Mental health economics—Social determinants and care‐use

Abstract

Frank and McGuire (2000) noted that "mental health economics is like health economics only more so: uncertainty and variation in treatments are greater; the assumption of patient self-interested behavior is more dubious; response to financial incentives such as insurance is exacerbated; the social consequences and external costs of illness are more formidable." Considering the prevalence of mental health problems-one in five American adults were estimated to have a mental illness in 2020 for example,-mental health economics research addresses key questions for economics with the potential for enormous societal impact. Such research helps to understand better how policies, social factors, and interventions affect mental health; how mental health services operate; and how those services interact with other related sectors like the criminal justice system or the housing market. To that end, this special issue focuses on critical topics of the causes of mental health and the services provided to people with mental illness across different international settings. | CAUSES OF MENTAL HEALTHWidespread access to high-speed Internet has been a transformative change for individuals and society. Many commentators and researchers have speculated whether it has led to a net benefit for people's emotional and mental well-being. The paper by Golin (2022) takes on the hugely important question: "What is the effect of access to broadband Internet on mental health?" Her instrumental variables analysis finds that household broadband adoption in Germany led to a statistically significant and economically meaningful deterioration of mental health status for younger adults, driven by effects on women. This important result raises many questions for future research in economics and other disciplines. Which parts of Internet use and access are more harmful to mental health? Is the heterogeneous age group result driven by an age group effect or a cohort effect? Has this effect changed over the past 20 years as high-speed Internet went from a novelty to a ubiquity? What can we learn about how Internet access and use affects youths who were not the focus of this study?Amid the extensive health economics literature on education and health, evidence on the positive effect of education on mental health exists in high-income countries. The paper by Kondirolli and Sunder (2022) makes an important contribution by expanding this evidence to a lower-income country setting. They leverage a major shock to educational attainment for Black Zimbabweans and examine its effects on mental health 20 years later. They find that those exposed to more schooling were less likely to report any depression or anxiety symptoms on the extensive margin and had lower severity on the intensive margin. This raises questions about the mechanisms through which additional schooling improved mental health. Kondirolli and Sunder (2022) identify several possibilities: better physical health, improved health behavior or knowledge, and increased female empowerment. Future rese...

Long Story Short, I Survived: An Exploration of the Meaning-making Stories of Suicide Attempt Survivors

“…Another common theme among participants was the importance of developing effective control over one's situation. This concept referred to an individual's perceived sense of control or agency over their environment, circumstances, and outcomes [49]. Perceived control was associated with better mental health outcomes and resilience in stress and adversity [50].…”