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The impact of anti-corruption on mental health: Evidence from China

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  • Fu, Jiawei
  • Zhou, Congyi

Abstract

Mental health directly influences individuals’ behaviors and decision-making processes, particularly for government officials grappling with mental health issues. This paper utilizes field data from China’s anti-corruption campaign to evaluate the campaign’s impact on mental health. Our findings indicate that depressive symptoms, as measured by CES-D8 scores, have risen significantly among government employees by 0.4 units per 100 increase in corruption investigation cases. This result suggests that the anti-corruption campaign within a year could potentially result in an average increase of 29% in depressive symptoms among government employees. Interestingly, no comparable effect was found among the general Chinese population. This discrepancy could be attributed to the transformative impact of the anti-corruption campaign on the internal governmental work environment, engendering stress among its employees.

Suggested Citation

  • Fu, Jiawei & Zhou, Congyi, 2024. "The impact of anti-corruption on mental health: Evidence from China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(4), pages 925-950.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:52:y:2024:i:4:p:925-950
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2024.07.003
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Anti-corruption; Depressive symptoms; Mental health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • P30 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - General
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty

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