Working Paper: NBER ID: w29407
Authors: Nathan Barker; Gharad T. Bryan; Dean Karlan; Angela Oforiatta; Christopher R. Udry
Abstract: We study the impact of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for individuals selected from the general population of poor households in rural Ghana. Results from 2-3 months after a randomized intervention show strong impacts on mental and physical health, cognitive and socioemotional skills, and downstream economic outcomes. We find no evidence of heterogeneity by baseline mental distress; we argue that this is because CBT can improve human capital for a general population of poor individuals through two pathways. First, CBT reduces vulnerability to deteriorating mental health; and second, CBT directly improves bandwidth, increasing cognitive and socioemotional skills and hence economic outcomes.
Keywords: Mental Health; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Human Capital; Economic Outcomes; Developing Countries
JEL Codes: H0; H00; I0; I00; I3; J0; J01; J10; J21; J24; O0; O1; O10
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| cognitive skills (G53) | economic outcomes (F61) |
| socioemotional skills (Z13) | economic outcomes (F61) |
| cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (D91) | mental health (I12) |
| cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (D91) | cognitive skills (G53) |
| cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (D91) | socioemotional skills (Z13) |
| cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (D91) | economic outcomes (F61) |
| cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (D91) | vulnerability to mental health deterioration (I14) |