Working Paper: NBER ID: w17426
Authors: Susan Busch; Ezra Golberstein; Ellen Meara
Abstract: Using annual cross-sectional data on over 100,000 adolescents aged 12-17, we studied academic and behavioral outcomes among those who were and were not likely affected by FDA warnings regarding the safety of antidepressants. Just before the FDA warnings, adolescents with probable depression had grade point averages 0.14 points higher than adolescents with depression just after the warnings. The FDA warnings also coincided with increased delinquency, use of tobacco and illicit drugs. Together, our results stress the importance of mental health and its treatment as an input into cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of human capital.
Keywords: Antidepressants; Human Capital; FDA Warnings; Adolescents; Mental Health
JEL Codes: I12; J18; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| FDA warnings (D18) | decline in average grades of adolescents with probable depression (I21) |
| reduced treatment of depression with antidepressants (C22) | decline in average grades of adolescents with probable depression (I21) |
| FDA warnings (D18) | increased delinquency and substance use (K42) |
| treatment with antidepressants (C22) | academic performance (D29) |
| untreated depression (I12) | worse human capital outcomes (J24) |