Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T03:16:59.075Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

MYOPIC MISERY: MATERNAL DEPRESSION, CHILD INVESTMENTS, AND THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL POVERTY TRAP

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2017

Holger Strulik
Holger Strulik*
Affiliation:
University of Goettingen
*
Address correspondence to: Holger Strulik, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics, Platz der Goettinger Sieben 3, 37073 Goettingen, Germany; e-mail: holger.strulik@wiwi.uni-goettingen.de.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this paper, I explore in an overlapping generations framework, a mechanism motivating a neurobiological poverty trap. Poverty causes stress and depression in individuals susceptible to depression. Poor and depressed individuals discount the future at a higher rate and invest less in the human capital of their children than mentally healthy or rich individuals. This gene–environment interaction generates a vicious cycle in which poor individuals inherit not only susceptibility to depression, but also stress and poverty. I show that a successful one-time intervention has the power to permanently eliminate the neurobiological poverty trap.

Keywords

Child InvestmentDepressionDiscountingGene–Environment Interaction
Type
Articles
Information
Macroeconomic Dynamics , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , March 2019 , pp. 522 - 534
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

I would like to thank Andrea Cornia, Carl-Johan Dalgaard, Michael Grimm, Sophia Kan, two anonymous referees, and an associate editor for helpful comments.

References

REFERENCES

Ashraf, Quamrul and Galor, Oded (2013) The “Out of Africa” hypothesis, human genetic diversity, and comparative economic development. American Economic Review 103 (1), 1–46.10.1257/aer.103.1.1Google Scholar
Augustine, Jennifer March and Crosnoe, Robert (2010) Mothers' depression and educational attainment and their children's academic trajectories. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 51 (3), 274–290.10.1177/0022146510377757Google Scholar
Becker, Gary S. and Barro, Robert J. (1988) A reformulation of the economic theory of fertility. Quarterly Journal of Economics 103, 1–25.10.2307/1882640Google Scholar
Becker, Gary S., Murphy, Kevin M., and Tamura, Robert (1990) Human capital, fertility, and economic growth. Journal of Political Economy 98, S12–S37.10.1086/261723Google Scholar
Ben-Porath, Yoram (1967) The production of human capital and the life cycle of earnings. Journal of Political Economy 75 (4), 352–365.10.1086/259291Google Scholar
Bernheim, B. Douglas, Ray, Debraj, and Yeltekin, Sevin (2015) Poverty and self-control. Econometrica 83 (5), 1877–1911.10.3982/ECTA11374Google Scholar
Caspi, Avshalom, Sugden, Karen, Moffitt, Terrie E., Taylor, Alan, Craig, Ian W., Harrington, HonaLee, McClay, Joseph, Mill, Jonathan, Martin, Judy, Braithwaite, Antony, and Poulton, Richie (2003) Influence of life stress on depression: Moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene. Science 301 (5631), 386–389.10.1126/science.1083968Google Scholar
Cervellati, Matteo and Sunde, Uwe (2005) Human capital formation, life expectancy, and the process of development. American Economic Review 95, 1653–1672.10.1257/000282805775014380Google Scholar
Cervellati, Matteo and Sunde, Uwe (2013) Life expectancy, schooling, and lifetime labor supply: Theory and evidence revisited. Econometrica 81, 2055–2086.Google Scholar
Cornelisse, Sandra, Van Ast, Vanessa, Haushofer, Johannes, Seinstra, Maayke, and Joels, Marian (2013) Time-Dependent Effect of Hydrocortisone Administration on Intertemporal Choice. Working paper, Available at SSRN 2294189.Google Scholar
Cronqvist, Henrik and Siegel, Stephan (2015) The origins of savings behavior. Journal of Political Economy 123 (1), 123–169.10.1086/679284Google Scholar
Dalgaard, Carl-Johan and Strulik, Holger (2015) The physiological foundations of the wealth of nations. Journal of Economic Growth 20 (1), 37–73.10.1007/s10887-015-9112-5Google Scholar
Dalgaard, Carl-Johan and Strulik, Holger (2016) Physiology and development: Why the West is taller than the rest. Economic Journal 126 (598), 2292–2323.10.1111/ecoj.12275Google Scholar
Dalton, Patricio S., Ghosal, Sayantan, and Mani, Anandi (2016) Poverty and aspirations failure. Economic Journal 126, 165–188.10.1111/ecoj.12210Google Scholar
Di Cesare, Mariachiara, Sabates, Ricardo, and Lewin, Keith M. (2013) A double prevention: How maternal education can affect maternal mental health, child health and child cognitive development. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies 4 (3), 166–179.Google Scholar
Eyal, Katherine and Burns, Justine (2016) Up or Down? Intergenerational Mental Health Transmission and Cash Transfers in South Africa (No. 165). Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.Google Scholar
Fisher, Jane, de Mello, Meena Cabral, Patel, Vikram, Rahman, Atif, Tran, Thach, Holton, Sara, and Holmes, Wendy (2012) Prevalence and determinants of common perinatal mental disorders in women in low-and lower-middle-income countries: A systematic review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 90 (2), 139–149.10.2471/BLT.11.091850Google Scholar
Galor, Oded and Moav, Omer (2002) Natural selection and the origin of economic growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics 117 (4), 1133–1191.10.1162/003355302320935007Google Scholar
Galor, Oded and Moav, Omer (2006) Das human-kapital: A theory of the demise of the class structure. Review of Economic Studies 73 (1), 85–117.10.1111/j.1467-937X.2006.00370.xGoogle Scholar
Galor, Oded and Zeira, Joseph (1993) Income distribution and macroeconomics. Review of Economic Studies 60 (1), 35–52.10.2307/2297811Google Scholar
Hammen, Constance (2005) Stress and depression. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology 1, 293–319.10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.143938Google Scholar
Hansen, Casper W. and Strulik, Holger (2017) Life Expectancy and Education: Evidence from the Cardiovascular Revolution. Journal of Economic Growth, forthcoming.10.1007/s10887-017-9147-xGoogle Scholar
Haushofer, Johannes (2011) Neurobiological Poverty Traps. Discussion paper, Princeton University.Google Scholar
Hazan, Moshe (2009) Longevity and lifetime labor supply: Evidence and implications. Econometrica 77, 1829–1863.Google Scholar
Ifcher, John and Zarghamee, Homa (2011) Happiness and time preference: The effect of positive affect in a random-assignment experiment. American Economic Review 101 (7), 3109–3129.10.1257/aer.101.7.3109Google Scholar
Jarvis, Edward (1855) Insanity and Idiocy in Massachusetts. Harvard University Press (reprint 1971).Google Scholar
Lerner, Jennifer S., Li, Ye, and Weber, Elke U. (2013) The financial costs of sadness. Psychological Science 24 (1), 72–79.10.1177/0956797612450302Google Scholar
Lesch, Klaus Peter (2004) Gene-environment interaction and the genetics of depression. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience 29 (3), 174–184.Google Scholar
Lorant, Vincent, Deliege, Denise, Eaton, William, Robert, Annie, Philippot, Pierre, and Ansseau, Marc (2003) Socioeconomic inequalities in depression: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Epidemiology 157 (2), 98–112.10.1093/aje/kwf182Google Scholar
Lund, Crick, De Silva, Mary, Plagerson, Sophie, Cooper, Sara, Chisholm, Dan, Das, Jishnu, Knapp, Martin, and Patel, Vikram (2011) Poverty and mental disorders: Breaking the cycle in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet 378 (9801), 1502–1514.10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60754-XGoogle Scholar
Mensah, Fiona K. and Kiernan, Kathleen E. (2010) Parents' mental health and children's cognitive and social development. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 45 (11), 1023–1035.10.1007/s00127-009-0137-yGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, Colter, Notterman, Daniel, Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, Hobcraft, John, Garfinkel, Irwin, Jaeger, Kate, Kotenko, Iulia, and McLanahan, Sara (2011) Role of mother's genes and environment in postpartum depression. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108 (20), 8189–8193.10.1073/pnas.1014129108Google Scholar
Moav, Omer (2005) Cheap children and the persistence of poverty. Economic Journal 115 (500), 88–110.10.1111/j.1468-0297.2004.00961.xGoogle Scholar
Parsons, Christine E., Young, Katherine S., Rochat, Tamsen J., Kringelbach, Morten L., and Stein, Alan (2012) Postnatal depression and its effects on child development: A review of evidence from low-and middle-income countries. British Medical Bulletin 101, 57–79.10.1093/bmb/ldr047Google Scholar
Patel, Vikram, Abas, Melanie, Broadhead, Jeremy, Todd, Charles, and Reeler, Anthony (2001) Depression in developing countries: Lessons from Zimbabwe. British Medical Journal 322 (7284) 482–484.10.1136/bmj.322.7284.482Google Scholar
Patel, Vikram and Kleinman, Arthur (2003) Poverty and common mental disorders in developing countries. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 81 (8), 609–615.Google Scholar
Pulcu, E., Trotter, P. D., Thomas, E. J., McFarquhar, M., Juhász, G., Sahakian, B. J., Deakin, J. F. W., Zahn, R., Anderson, I. M., and Elliott, R. (2014) Temporal discounting in major depressive disorder. Psychological Medicine 44 (9), 1825–1834.10.1017/S0033291713002584Google Scholar
Roy, Amrita and Campbell, M. Karen (2013) A unifying framework for depression: Bridging the major biological and psychosocial theories through stress. Clinical & Investigative Medicine 36 (4), 170–190.10.25011/cim.v36i4.19951Google Scholar
Sareen, Jitender, Afifi, Tracie O., McMillan, Katherine A., and Asmundson, Gordon J. (2011) Relationship between household income and mental disorders: Findings from a population-based longitudinal study. Archives of General Psychiatry 68 (4), 419–427.10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.15Google Scholar
Schumacher, Ingmar (2009) Endogenous discounting via wealth, twin-peaks and the role of technology. Economics Letters 10, 78–80.10.1016/j.econlet.2009.01.033Google Scholar
Soares, Rodrigo R. (2005) Mortality reductions, educational attainment, and fertility choice. American Economic Review 95 (3), 580–601.10.1257/0002828054201486Google Scholar
Sohr-Preston, Sara L., and Scaramella, Laura V. (2006) Implications of timing of maternal depressive symptoms for early cognitive and language development. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 9 (1), 65–83.10.1007/s10567-006-0004-2Google Scholar
Strulik, Holger (2012) Patience and prosperity. Journal of Economic Theory 147 (1), 336–352.10.1016/j.jet.2011.10.008Google Scholar
Strulik, Holger and Werner, Katharina (2016) 50 is the new 30-long-run trends of schooling and retirement explained by human aging. Journal of Economic Growth 21 (2), 165–187.10.1007/s10887-015-9124-1Google Scholar
WHO (2015) Depression. Fact sheet Number 369, http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs369/en/Google Scholar
Zhang, Junsen, Zhang, Jie, and Lee, Ronald (2001) Mortality decline and long-run economic growth. Journal of Public Economics 80 (3), 485–507.10.1016/S0047-2727(00)00122-5Google Scholar