Thread by @rethinkecon

On #WorldMentalHealthDay, we thought we’d take a look at one of the best-known economics textbooks, Greg Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, to see how the discipline treats mental health
archive.org/details/n.-gre…

There are many links between mental health and economics. Mental health can be impacted by peoples’ working situation, their level of income, and the state of the macroeconomy. Similarly, mental health can impact productivity, well-being, and other economic outcomes.

These issues are recognised in some areas of the economics literature, for instance Layard (2013) or Knapp and Wong (2020).
link.springer.com/article/10.118…
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10…

Unfortunately, there are barely any mentions of ‘mental health’ Mankiw’s textbook: just 1 by our count. The term ‘anxiety’ is not used and the ‘depression’ is largely used in the economic sense of the term. This contrasts with healthcare in general, which is discussed frequently.

One section which mentions mental health is this box by Tyler Cowen on the social influence of economic downturns. However, it is only mentioned in passing amidst a smorgasbord of social and cultural dynamics during recessions.

While introductory textbooks have to limit their scope, it seems fair to ask for more than a mention of mental health given its importance and its increasing recognition in the discipline. Discussions could easily be integrated with the numerous discussions of physical health.

Attached is the box in question