Det osynliga samhällsproblemet

Sammanfattning: Mental illness is one of the leading causes of global disease and is expected to increase in the near future. However, the unawareness of the issue is grave as the subject is highly affected by taboo. Countries’ economic situations are heavily dependent on the productivity of their population, which is directly affected by mental health issues. Hence, from an economic and humanitarian perspective it is of great importance to address the problem of global mental illness. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the connection between mental health diseases and GDP per capita. The method to investigate the relationships is based on several assumptions, formed on previous research and possible societal linkages. The study is based on unbalanced panel data consisting of 173 countries, examining the years from 2000 to 2015, divided into five years periods. The mental diseases alcoholism, anxiety and depression are used to portrait mental illness. The main focus of this study is the variable GDP per capita. Furthermore, the study includes control variables such as inequality, physical illness and average years of schooling. The empirical analysis states that the relationship between mental illness and the examined macroeconomic factors are interconnected, furthermore that the assumptions that the study is based on are partly confirmed. Yet, causality between the included variables affects the results, which highlights the need of further research.