Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/170943 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10959
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
The antidepressant pill is an important modern commodity. Its growing role in the world has been largely ignored by researchers in economics departments and business schools. Scholars may be unaware how many citizens and employees now take these pills. Here we review some of the social-science literature on the topic. We discuss research on the impact of advertising upon antidepressant consumption, the link between antidepressants and the human 'midlife crisis', and evidence on how antidepressants are connected to crime, suicide, and financial hardship. We argue that antidepressants will eventually have to be modelled as a new form of consumption that lies in the currently grey area between medicines and consumer goods. This topic demands scholarly and societal attention.
Subjects: 
medications
depression
well-being
happiness
JEL: 
I1
I12
I3
I31
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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