Abstract
This study investigates socioeconomic and health-related factors that contribute to well-being in America, partially replicating the analysis of Oswald and Wu (Rev Econ Stat 93(4):1118–1134, 2011) using many more years’ worth of data. In particular, data from more than 2 decades of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys were used to investigate to what degree various factors explain the self-reported number of bad mental health days in the past month. We find that self-reported mental health changes most with age, employment situation, and marital status. Mental health was worse when income was less than peer group average or weight was more than peer group average, and the strength of these effects differed by gender. Because data spanned several decades, we were able to estimate generational effects and time trends, unlike otherwise similar analyses of BRFSS data.
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Notes
Recently, Layard (2013) has showed that mental health is highly correlated with other measures of life satisfaction.
That is, symptoms relating to anxiety, including: having trouble sleeping, thinking, or remembering; feeling overwhelmed; and having shortness of breath
Recently, however, Stevenson and Wolfers (2008) have cast doubt on the Easterlin paradox by providing evidence that absolute income indeed matters on its own.
This is reminiscent of the U-bend shape reported by others (see, e.g., The Economist, December 18–25, 2010); the earlier peak that we observe may be due at least in part to a different definition of utility. Indeed, Oswald and Wu (2011) observed the peak in the mid-thirties for the mental health response and in the fifties for the life satisfaction response.
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7 Appendix
7 Appendix
Coef | Std.Err. | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
Female | 0.830 | 0.007 | 0.000 |
Physical health | 0.236 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Pre-WWII | \(-\) 0.329 | 0.013 | 0.000 |
Health plan | |||
No coverage | 0.507 | 0.010 | 0.000 |
Don’t know | \(-\) 0.068 | 0.070 | 0.336 |
Refused | \(-\) 0.326 | 0.103 | 0.002 |
Marital status | |||
Divorced | 0.796 | 0.009 | 0.000 |
Widowed | 0.429 | 0.011 | 0.000 |
Separated | 2.134 | 0.019 | 0.000 |
Never married | 0.277 | 0.010 | 0.000 |
Member of unmarried couple | 0.757 | 0.019 | 0.000 |
Refused | 0.373 | 0.058 | 0.000 |
Education | |||
Elementary | 0.056 | 0.072 | 0.435 |
Some high school | 0.287 | 0.071 | 0.000 |
High school graduate | \(-\) 0.044 | 0.070 | 0.528 |
Some college | 0.092 | 0.071 | 0.194 |
College graduate | \(-\) 0.245 | 0.071 | 0.001 |
Refused | \(-\) 0.104 | 0.104 | 0.316 |
Race | |||
Black | \(-\) 0.792 | 0.011 | 0.000 |
Hispanic | \(-\) 0.684 | 0.013 | 0.000 |
Other | \(-\) 0.072 | 0.013 | 0.000 |
Refused or didn’t know | 0.156 | 0.031 | 0.000 |
Employment | |||
Self-employed | 0.051 | 0.011 | 0.000 |
Out of work for \(\ge \) 1 year | 2.246 | 0.020 | 0.000 |
Out of work for < 1 year | 1.773 | 0.019 | 0.000 |
Homemaker | 0.085 | 0.012 | 0.000 |
Student | 0.291 | 0.020 | 0.000 |
Retired | 0.285 | 0.010 | 0.000 |
Unable to work | 4.138 | 0.014 | 0.000 |
Refused | 0.497 | 0.055 | 0.000 |
Relative income | |||
Male | \(-\) 0.537 | 0.007 | 0.000 |
Female | \(-\) 0.766 | 0.006 | 0.000 |
Male—unknown | 0.345 | 0.023 | 0.000 |
Female—unknown | 0.309 | 0.015 | 0.000 |
Male—hidden | \(-\) 0.174 | 0.019 | 0.000 |
Female—hidden | \(-\) 0.524 | 0.015 | 0.000 |
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Rothert, J., VanDerwerken, D. & White, E. Socioeconomic factors and happiness: evidence from self-reported mental health data. Empir Econ 58, 3101–3123 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01655-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01655-y