Mental health and wellbeing
Substantial links are seen between poor mental health and economic status, including lower educational attainment, unemployment, poverty, homelessness and crime. Poor mental health also impacts national productivity, considering its links with higher worker absenteeism and presenteeism. Economics provides an extensive set of analytical tools for discovering new facts and insights that can aid the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of mental health conditions. Using large and complex survey data and applying advanced methods to address issues of causation, we aim to provide evidence on the economic causes and consequences of poor mental health, the costs of poor mental health on productivity, and the evaluation of policy interventions aimed at improving population mental health and economic participation.
Examples of our published research
- Mental health and the response to financial incentives
- Status inconsistency and mental health
- Mental wellbeing costs of violent crime victimisation
- The impact of depression on health-related quality of life and wellbeing
- The income gradient in childhood mental health
- The effect of mental health on employment in Australia
- The persistence of mental health across three generations
- Long term health effects of Vietnam-era military service
- Stock market performance and mental wellbeing
- The impact of spousal bereavement on hospitalisations