Working Paper: NBER ID: w29422
Authors: Barbara Biasi; Michael S. Dahl; Petra Moser
Abstract: Focusing on bipolar disorder (BD), we investigate the link between mental health, creativity, and wealth. Analyzing population data for Denmark, we find that people with BD are more likely to be musicians, but less likely to hold other creative jobs than the population. Healthy siblings of people with BD, however, are consistently more likely to work in creative jobs. We also show people in the top decile of parental wealth are seven times as likely to work in creative professions compared with the bottom decile. Yet, wealth differences only explain a small portion of the link between BD and creativity.
Keywords: Mental Health; Creativity; Wealth; Bipolar Disorder
JEL Codes: I12; I14; J24; O31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Bipolar Disorder (BD) (Y30) | Creative Employment (J68) |
| Bipolar Disorder (BD) (Y30) | Musicians and Composers (Z11) |
| Healthy Siblings of BD (I12) | Creative Employment (J68) |
| Parental Wealth (G51) | Creative Employment (J68) |
| Parental Wealth (G51) | (BD and Creative Employment) (Z11) |