Working Paper: NBER ID: w30330
Authors: Abhijit Banerjee; Esther Duflo; Erin Grela; Madeline McKelway; Frank Schilbach; Garima Sharma; Girija Vaidyanathan
Abstract: The mental health of the elderly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is a largely neglected subject, both by policy and research. We combine data from the health and retirement family of surveys in seven LMICs (plus the US) to document that depressive symptoms among those aged 55 and above are more prevalent in those countries and increase sharply with age. Depressive symptoms in one survey wave are associated with a greater decline in functional abilities and higher probability of death in the next wave. Using data from a panel survey we conducted in Tamil Nadu with a focus on elderly living alone, we document that social isolation, poverty, and health challenges are three of the leading correlates of depression. We discuss potential policy interventions in these three domains, including some results from our randomized control trials in the Tamil Nadu sample.
Keywords: mental health; elderly; depression; loneliness; low and middle-income countries
JEL Codes: I15; I30
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Depressive symptoms (I12) | functional abilities (G53) |
| Depressive symptoms (I12) | mortality (I12) |
| Age (J14) | depressive symptoms (D91) |
| Depression (E32) | functional impairment (I12) |
| Depressive symptoms (I12) | future mortality (J17) |
| Loneliness (I31) | depression (E32) |
| Depression (E32) | loneliness (Y70) |
| Social isolation (Z13) | depression (E32) |
| Poverty (I32) | depression (E32) |
| Health challenges (I12) | depression (E32) |