Mental Health and Socio-Economic Outcomes in Burundi

Baingana, Florence ; Dabalen, Andrew ; Menye, Essimi ; Prywes, Menahem ; Rosholm, Michael

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ADOLESCENTS;    ADULTS;    AGE GROUPS;    AGED;    AIDS PANDEMIC;   

RP-ID  :  36315

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper presents analysis of datafrom a survey of 5,599 respondents aged 10 years and olderconducted country-wide in Burundi in 1998-99. The paperestimates statistically significant relationships betweenindicators of poor mental health and several social andeconomic outcomes. Most importantly, a worsening of mentalhealth is associated with a decline in employment and with adecline in school enrollment of the subject's children.No relationship is found between mental health and poverty,once adjustments are made for demographic and regionalinfluences. It argues that poor mental health diminishespeople's participation in work and investment in theirchildren's education through dysfunction resulting frompsychiatric trauma and depression. Economic theory holdsthat investment in human capital, such as in education, willdepend in part on expectations about the return on the investment.