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Wealth Effects, Local Area Attributes, and Economic Prospects: On the Relationship between House Prices and Mental Wellbeing

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  • Anita Ratcliffe

Abstract

type="main"> This research exploits large variations in local house prices to investigate whether house prices correlate with mental wellbeing, and uses contrasting implications for the effect of house prices on the mental wellbeing of homeowners and renters to shed light on why this correlation might arise. I document a positive correlation between house prices and the mental wellbeing of both homeowners and non-homeowners, which is inconsistent with a pure wealth effect. Instead this finding suggests that local house prices provide a reflection of available amenities and economic opportunities in the area.

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  • Anita Ratcliffe, 2015. "Wealth Effects, Local Area Attributes, and Economic Prospects: On the Relationship between House Prices and Mental Wellbeing," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(1), pages 75-92, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:61:y:2015:i:1:p:75-92
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    2. Nayan Krishna Joshi, 2016. "Local house prices and mental health," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 89-102, March.
    3. Jaesang Sung & Qihua Qiu, 2020. "The Impact of Housing Prices on Health in the United States Before, During, and After the Great Recession," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(3), pages 910-940, January.
    4. Atalay, Kadir & Edwards, Rebecca & Liu, Betty Y.J., 2017. "Effects of house prices on health: New evidence from Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 36-48.
    5. Atalay, Kadir & Edwards, Rebecca, 2022. "House prices, housing wealth and financial well-being," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    6. Nanqian Chen & Yanpei Shen & Hailun Liang & Rui Guo, 2021. "Housing and Adult Health: Evidence from Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-13, January.
    7. Swamy, Vighneswara, 2017. "Wealth Effects and Macroeconomic Dynamics – Evidence from Indian Economy," MPRA Paper 76836, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Mingzhi Hu & Yulu Yang & Xiaofen Yu, 2020. "Living better and feeling happier: An investigation into the association between housing quality and happiness," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 1224-1238, September.
    9. Julio Huato & Aida Chavez, 2021. "Household Income, Pandemic-Related Income Loss, and the Probability of Anxiety and Depression," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 47(4), pages 546-570, October.

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