Agenda

19 Feb 2025 12:15

Ilan Noy - Heterogenous Mental Health Impacts of a Forced Relocation

Meeting Room 1, San Giobbe Economics Campus + online

Ilan Noy (Gran Sasso Science Institute) - Heterogenous Mental Health Impacts of a Forced Relocation

Abstract:
People are sometimes forced to move, and it is plausible that such relocation involves significant psychological costs. The challenge in identifying the mental health consequences of moving is that most moves are (at least partly) voluntary so that the sample of movers is self-selected. We use a natural experiment, the government-mandated relocation of only some households after all households experience an exogenous shock (an earthquake), to identify the causal impact of moving on people’s mental health, distinguishing between less severe and more severe health conditions, and between individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions and those without. The event we focus on is the 2011 Christchurch (New Zealand) earthquake, and the consequent decision of the government to relocate about 8000 households from some of the earthquake-affected areas. We use a comprehensive administrative dataset that includes health records with information on hospital attendance, specialist services, and prescribed medications for (almost) every resident in the city. We examine both the likelihood of experiencing mental health conditions (the extensive margin), and the intensity of these conditions, as measured by the number of treatments (the intensive margin). We find a statistically significant increase in the likelihood and frequency of receiving treatment for moderate mental health problems among individuals compelled to relocate, when compared to other residents of the earthquake-affected city who were allowed to remain in situ. This increase persisted to December 2013 for everyone, but remained significant for the elderly to the end of 2018. We found no such increase for more severe mental health conditions that required more acute interventions.

The seminar can be attended also remotely, connecting to ZOOM.

Link Zoom: bit.ly/insem-2425
ID riunione:  880 2639 9452
Passcode: InSem-2425

Lingua

L'evento si terrà in inglese

Organizzatore

Department of Economics (InSeminars)

Link

http://bit.ly/insem-2425

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