No evidence for a protective effect of education on mental health

authored by

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.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Labour Economics

External Organisation(s)

University of Sydney
ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
German Institute for Economic Research (DIW)

Type

Article

Journal

Social Science and Medicine

Volume

241

ISSN

0277-9536

Publication date

11.2019

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Health(social science), History and Philosophy of Science

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Electronic version(s)

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