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Who cares about stock market booms and busts? Evidence from data on mental health

Author

Listed:
  • Anita Ratcliffe
  • Karl Taylor

Abstract

This article investigates the association between stock market activity and mental well-being, exploiting the availability of interview dates in the British Household Panel Survey to match changes in the FTSE 100 stock price index to respondents over the period 1991–2008. We present evidence that annual changes in the price index are associated with better mental well-being whilst greater uncertainty, proxied by volatility in the price index, is associated with poorer mental well-being—even after controlling for macroeconomic conditions. Our findings provide support of a wealth mechanism and also suggest that the stock market is a barometer of economic prospects and/or social movements and mood.

Suggested Citation

  • Anita Ratcliffe & Karl Taylor, 2015. "Who cares about stock market booms and busts? Evidence from data on mental health," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 67(3), pages 826-845.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:67:y:2015:i:3:p:826-845.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/oep/gpv030
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    Cited by:

    1. Giulietti, Corrado & Tonin, Mirco & Vlassopoulos, Michael, 2020. "When the market drives you crazy: Stock market returns and fatal car accidents," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    2. Tonzer, Lena, 2017. "Uncertainty, financial crises, and subjective well-being," IWH Discussion Papers 2/2017, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    3. Katarzyna Czech & Michał Wielechowski & Richard Barichello, 2023. "The shock of war: do trade relations impact the reaction of stock markets to the Russian invasion of Ukraine?," Ekonomista, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne, issue 1, pages 14-27.
    4. Singh, Vikkram & Roca, Eduardo & Li, Bin, 2021. "Effectiveness of policy interventions during financial crises in China and Russia: Lessons for the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 253-277.
    5. Muhammad Ali Nasir & Muhammad Shahbaz & Trinh Thi Mai & Moade Shubita, 2021. "Development of Vietnamese stock market: Influence of domestic macroeconomic environment and regional markets," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 1435-1458, January.
    6. Jane M Fry & Lisa Farrell, 2023. "Road accidents: unexpected costs of stock market movements," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(1), pages 233-255.
    7. Saurabh Singhal & Finn Tarp, 2025. "Commodity price volatility and the psychological well‐being of farmers," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 107(1), pages 269-289, January.
    8. Elena Lagomarsino & Alessandro Spiganti, 2020. "No gain in pain: psychological well-being, participation, and wages in the BHPS," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(9), pages 1375-1389, December.
    9. Ningyu Tang & Jingqiu Chen & Kaili Zhang & Thomas Li-Ping Tang, 2018. "Monetary Wisdom: How Do Investors Use Love of Money to Frame Stock Volatility and Enhance Stock Happiness?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(6), pages 1831-1862, August.
    10. Sarah Brown & Mark N. Harris & Preety Srivastava & Karl Taylor, 2018. "Mental Health and Reporting Bias: Analysis of the GHQ - 12," Working Papers 2018013, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    11. Frijters, Paul & Johnston, David W. & Shields, Michael A. & Sinha, Kompal, 2015. "A lifecycle perspective of stock market performance and wellbeing," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 237-250.
    12. Emilio Colombo & Valentina Rotondi & Luca Stanca, 2018. "Macroeconomic conditions and well-being: do social interactions matter?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(28), pages 3029-3038, June.
    13. Chen, Zisen & James, Jonathan, 2022. "Put your FTSE down: Wealth shocks and road traffic collisions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    14. Alex Bryson & Andrew E. Clark & Colin Green, 2021. "Footsie, yeah! Share prices and worker wellbeing," Post-Print halshs-03467147, HAL.
    15. Tonzer Lena, 2019. "Elevated Uncertainty during the Financial Crisis: Do Effects on Subjective Well-Being Differ across European Countries?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(2), pages 1-15, April.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

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