# Associational and plausible causal effects of COVID-19 public health policies on economic and mental distress

**Authors:** Reka Sundaram-Stukel, Richard J Davidson  
**arXiv:** [2112.11564](https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.11564)  
**Date:** 2021-12-20  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2112.11564v1/

## Key points

- COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant mental distress globally
- High proportions of people reporting anxiety and depression
- Understanding factors contributing to distress is crucial for developing effective strategies
- Study used data from Household Pulse Survey (HPS) to examine mental distress in US citizens
- Combined HPS survey data with state-level COVID-19 cases, deaths, public policies, and mobility patterns
- Constructed economic and mental distress measures to estimate structural models
- Findings revealed steady increase in anxiety and depression in the US during study period
- Mobility restrictions primarily impacted public health policies, leading to negative consequences for businesses and restaurants
- Increase in COVID-19 cases resulted in 4.1% job loss and 6.3% economic distress during the same period
- Job loss and housing insecurity significantly contributed to mental distress

## Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on mental distress globally, with high proportions of people reporting anxiety and depression. Understanding the factors that contribute to this distress is crucial for developing effective strategies to mitigate long-term pandemic-related mental health issues. In this study, the authors used data from the Household Pulse Survey (HPS) conducted between April 2020 and February 2021 to examine the mental distress experienced by U.S. citizens as a result of COVID-19. They combined the HPS survey data with publicly available state-level weekly data on COVID-19 cases and deaths from the Centers for Disease Control, as well as information on public policies and mobility patterns from Apple and Google. By constructing economic and mental distress measures, the researchers estimated structural models with lag dependent variables to analyze the associational and causal effects of public health policies on economic and mental distress. The findings revealed a steady increase in anxiety and depression in the U.S. during the study period. The study also highlighted how mobility restrictions primarily impacted public health policies, leading to significant negative consequences for businesses and restaurants. The analysis showed that an increase in COVID-19 cases during period t-1 resulted in a 4.1% increase in job loss and a 6.3% increase in economic distress during the same period. Furthermore, job loss and housing insecurity during period t-1 were found to significantly contribute to mental distress during period t, with increases of 29.1% and 32.7%, respectively.