Impact of The Global Financial Crisis on Depression and Self-Rated Health

Abstract

This study explores the impact of the global financial crisis on depression and self-rated health among individuals. The global financial crisis in this study refers to the one triggered by the 2008 US subprime mortgage crisis. We examined changes in depression and self-rated health status across regions by utilizing the fact that the impact in Korea varied by region. Using a quasi-experimental Difference-in-Differences analysis, we tested for causality between the economic crisis and individual health outcomes. The study's results showed that for depression, the pre- and post-crisis analyses did not show significant results based on the affected region. However, regional analysis showed that individuals in Dae-gu/Gyeong-buk were more likely to experience depression than those in Gwang-ju/Jeon-nam/ Jeon-buk/Je-ju. For both pre- and post-crisis periods, the likelihood of poor self-rated health was higher in regions more heavily affected by the crisis. These regional differences in depression and self-rated health suggest that the economic crisis can influence both depression and self-rated health. This study addresses the impact of the global financial crisis on individual health in Korea, where research on this topic remains limited.