Publication type
Research Paper
Series Number
8449
Series
CESifo Working Papers
Authors
Publication date
July 15, 2020
Summary:
We use the UK Household Longitudinal Study and compare pre- (2017-2019) and post-COVID-
19 data (April 2020) for the same group of individuals to assess and quantify changes in mental
health among ethnic groups in the UK. We confirm the previously documented average
deterioration in mental health for the whole sample of individuals interviewed pre- and post-
COVID-19, and uncover four new facts. First, ethnicity predicts mental health deterioration
when interacted with gender. Among men, BAME individuals experience a higher deterioration
in mental health compared to British White individuals. However, among women, the
deterioration in mental health is similar for both BAME and British White individuals. Second,
the gender gap in mental health deterioration is only present among British White individuals
and not among BAME individuals. Third, the drop in mental health among women and BAME
men is very similar. Finally, there is substantial heterogeneity across BAME groups. The BAME
group of Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani appears to be driving the difference in the gender
gap in mental health deterioration between British White and BAME individuals. We call for
additional research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across different ethnic groups, and
urge both policy makers and researchers to allocate resources to collect larger sample sizes of
minority ethnic groups.
Subjects
Link
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