No evidence for a protective effect of education on mental health

verfasst von

Sarah C. Dahmann, Daniel D. Schnitzlein

Abstract

This paper analyzes whether education has a protective effect on mental health. To estimate causal effects, we employ an instrumental variable (IV) technique that exploits a reform extending compulsory schooling by one year implemented between 1949 and 1969 in West Germany. We complement analyses on the Mental Component Summary (MCS) score as a generic measure of overall mental health with an MCS-based indicator for risk of developing symptoms of mental health disorder and a continuous measure of subjective well-being. Results support existing evidence of a positive relationship between completed years of secondary schooling and mental health in standard OLS estimations. In contrast, the IV estimations reveal no such causal protective effect and negative effects cannot be ruled out.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Arbeitsökonomik

Externe Organisation(en)

Universität Sydney
ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course
Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit (IZA)
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung e.V. (DIW Berlin)

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Social Science and Medicine

Band

241

ISSN

0277-9536

Publikationsdatum

11.2019

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Gesundheit (Sozialwissenschaften), Wissenschaftsgeschichte und -philosophie

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 3 – Gute Gesundheit und Wohlergehen

Elektronische Version(en)

https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/items/52520f9c-0a9f-587d-9064-ac248f755d13 (Zugang: Offen)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112584 (Zugang: Geschlossen)