This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. Journal of Economic Perspectives
  4. Search Results
  5. Depression and Loneliness among the Elderly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Journal of Economic Perspectives

ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)

Depression and Loneliness among the Elderly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

  • Abhijit Banerjee
  • Esther Duflo
  • Erin Grela
  • Madeline McKelway
  • Frank Schilbach
  • Garima Sharma
  • Girija Vaidyanathan
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 37, no. 2, Spring 2023
(pp. 179–202)
Download Full Text PDF
(Complimentary)

Abstract

We combine data from longitudinal surveys in seven low- and middle-income countries (plus the United States for comparison) to document that depressive symptoms among those aged 55 and above are prevalent in those countries and, unlike in the United States, increase sharply with age. Depressive symptoms in one survey wave are associated with a greater decline in ability to carry out basic daily activities and a higher probability of death in the next wave. Using additional data from a panel survey we conducted in Tamil Nadu with a focus on elderly living alone, we document that social isolation, poverty, and physical health challenges are strongly correlated with depression. We discuss potential policy interventions in these three domains, including some results from our randomized control trials in the Tamil Nadu sample.

Citation

Banerjee, Abhijit, Esther Duflo, Erin Grela, Madeline McKelway, Frank Schilbach, Garima Sharma, and Girija Vaidyanathan. 2023. "Depression and Loneliness among the Elderly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 37 (2): 179–202. DOI: 10.1257/jep.37.2.179

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • I12 Health Behavior
  • I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
  • J14 Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-labor Market Discrimination
  • O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
There are no comments for this article.
Login to Comment