Economic losses significantly worsen mental health, with effects persisting 6–12 months. Education and access to coping mechanisms largely buffer these impacts.

Still surprisingly little causal evidence on this in LMICs.

Economic shocks and mental health in Bangladesh Introduction Economic shocks, that is, events that cause a sudden loss of income for households, are common in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), yet their impact on mental health remains...

A new paper in BMJ Global Health on economic shocks and mental health in Bangladesh.

Using nationally representative panel data with individual fixed effects, we estimate the causal impact of income, asset, and production losses on depression and anxiety.

gh.bmj.com/content/10/1...

Panel plot by region (East Asia & Pacific, Latin America & Caribbean, South Asia) and age group (20–29, 30–39, 40–49). Y-axis: ‘Difference Between Sub-Saharan Africa and Region’ in children ever born and in the number of surviving; X-axis: Education (0–16 years). Differences are uniformly smaller for surviving children than for children ever born, especially around the end of primary school.

Companion figure: The gaps are smaller for surviving children (in black) than for children ever born (in gray), at the same grade levels—consistent with child survival and school quality shaping cross-regional fertility differences.

Panel plot by region (East Asia & Pacific, Latin America & Caribbean, South Asia) and age group (20–29, 30–39, 40–49). Y-axis: ‘Difference Between Sub-Saharan Africa and Region’ in children-ever-born; X-axis: Education (0–16 years). Error bars shown. Differences increase through primary school years and then decline; little difference at secondary+.

Figure: Differences in children ever born between SSA and other regions by years of schooling (ages 20–29, 30–39, 40–49). Gaps peak near the end of primary, then decline. Rural results shown here; urban similar.

New in Demography: ‘How Is Fertility Behavior in Africa Different?’ Using DHS/MICS data, SSA–other-region fertility gaps rise through primary school and narrow at higher schooling; little difference among women with secondary+. doi.org/10.1215/0070... @readdemography.bsky.social @seattleu.edu

My project with @nickchk.com on "The Sources of Researcher Variation in Economics" is finally out as a working paper. See Nick's posts for more on the results.

Five economists standing in a row looking pleased with how the conference session went.

Throwback to Southern Economic Assoc Conference Session on Education & Development #SEA2024 last week #EconSky
Estelle Koussoube @worldbankgroup.bsky.social, Claus Portner @clausportner.bsky.social, Valentina Duque, Jennifer Seager (@seagerje), Ken Leonard (@leonard_arec). 1/3

Seven economists standing in a row looking pleased with how the conference session went.

Throwback to Southern Econ Assn Conference Session on Health & Development #SEA2024 last week #EconSky
Claus Portner @clausportner.bsky.social , Valentina Duque, Shamma Alam, Ken Leonard, Zoë McLaren @zoemclaren.bsky.social , Estelle Koussoube @worldbankgroup.bsky.social , Jennifer Seager 1/3