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The Emergence of the Poverty–Mental Health Gradient and the Great Pakistan Earthquake of 2005

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  • Tahir Andrabi
  • Benjamin Daniels
  • Jishnu Das

Abstract

The poverty–mental health gradient varies substantially across populations, far more than sampling variation alone would predict. We treat this heterogeneity as a primary object of empirical interest. Using data collected four years after the 2005 Great Pakistan Earthquake from 126 villages spanning 0–75 km from the activated fault line, we show that in unaffected populations there is no correlation between consumption poverty and mental health. By contrast, among those nearest the fault, mental health improves by 0.12 standard deviations per log unit of consumption, while the relationship is a precise zero beyond 20 km. This gradient is robust to alternative distance thresholds, sample splits, and binary mental health measures, and is not mediated by acute household trauma. These results suggest that mass adversity can activate the poverty–mental health gradient, helping explain heterogeneity in the broader literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Tahir Andrabi & Benjamin Daniels & Jishnu Das, 2026. "The Emergence of the Poverty–Mental Health Gradient and the Great Pakistan Earthquake of 2005," NBER Working Papers 35060, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35060
    Note: DEV EH
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    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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