The effect of actual and expected income shocks on mental wellbeing: Evidence from three East Asian countries during COVID-19
利用中国、日本和韩国在新冠疫情早期的个人数据，研究发现当前和预期的收入减少都会导致焦虑、失眠、无聊和孤独等心理健康问题，且预期收入损失的影响更大。
This paper evaluates the effects of economic shocks to current and expected income reduction on mental wellbeing. We use individual-level data from three East Asian countries; China, Japan, and South Korea, during the early phases of the pandemic when the COVID-induced economic shocks were severe. The findings reveal significant causal effects from current and expected income reduction on different aspects of mental health deterioration, including anxiety, trouble sleeping, boredom, and loneliness. Interestingly, we found that expectations of future income loss have a significantly larger effect on people's mental wellbeing compared to current falls in income. This has significant implications for the design of policies to support income during pandemics.