Air Pollution and Long Term Mental Health

Abstract

We study the long-term consequences of air pollution on mental health, using a natural experiment in Indonesia. We find that exposure to severe air pollution has significant and persistent consequences on mental health. An extra standard deviation in the pollution index raises the probability of clinical depression measured 10 years past exposure by almost 1%. Women in particular seem to be more affected, but some effects persist for men as well. Pollution exposure increases the likelihood of clinical depression for women and also the severity of depressive symptoms for both sexes. It is not clear if men are more resistant to pollution or they simply recover faster from it. Education, perceived economic status, and marriage seem to be the best mitigators for these negative effects.