Working Paper: NBER ID: w14404
Authors: Pinka Chatterji; Margarita Alegria; David Takeuchi
Abstract: This paper uses the National Comorbidity Survey - Replication to estimate the effects of recent psychiatric disorder on employment, hours worked, and earnings. We employ methods proposed in Altonji, Elder and Taber (2005) which use selection on observable traits to provide information regarding selection along unobservable factors. Among males, disorder is associated with reductions of 13-17 percentage points in labor force participation and employment, depending on the sample and the model. Among females, we find smaller, less consistent associations between disorder and labor force participation and employment. There are no effects of disorder on earnings or hours worked among employed individuals.
Keywords: Psychiatric Disorders; Labor Market Outcomes; Employment; National Comorbidity Survey
JEL Codes: I0
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Psychiatric disorders (I12) | labor market outcomes (J48) |
| Recent psychiatric disorders (I12) | labor force participation (J22) |
| Recent psychiatric disorders (I12) | employment likelihood (J68) |
| Psychiatric disorders (I12) | earnings (J31) |
| Psychiatric disorders (I12) | hours worked (J22) |
| Lifetime history of disorder (I12) | earnings (J31) |