TY - JOUR PY - 2020// TI - Is trade a blessing or a curse? A panel data analysis of the determinants of depressive disorders JO - International journal of public health A1 - Lin, Yu-Chun A1 - Chang, Yu-Hung A1 - Yan, Huang-Ting SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - OBJECTIVES: Given the speculation of the market economy causing an epidemic of depression, this study aimed to examine the influence of international trade on the prevalence of depressive disorders. METHODS: We used panel data from 1993 to 2015 covering 170 countries (n = 3787) and applied fixed effects regression models. We modeled the prevalence of depressive disorders as a function of international trade, adjusting for economic development, economic growth, and population size. Regime types, media freedom, and capital-labor ratio were included as moderators. RESULTS: A 100% point increase in the value of international trade indicated a 0.09% point decrease in the prevalence of depressive disorders (- 0.09, confidence interval [CI] - 0.01 to - 0.18). However, this effect existed only for democratic countries (- 0.15, CI - 0.03 to - 0.28). The effect was more prevalent when the governments allowed the media more freedom (score of 100, - 0.31, CI - 0.17 to - 0.45) or when a country's capital-labor ratio of endowments was high (50,000, - 0.22, CI - 0.08 to - 0.35). CONCLUSIONS: Trade brings about positive mental health outcomes in democracies, countries having free media, or capital-abundant economies.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1661-8556 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00038-020-01410-6 ID - ref1 ER -