Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/282828 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16701
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We analyze whether field of study assigned at age 16 impacts mental health in adulthood. Using a regression discontinuity design that exploits GPA cut-offs, we find that admission to the preferred study field improves mental health, lowering both the incidence of antidepressant prescriptions and of mental health-related hospitalizations. Engineering contributes strongly but not uniquely to the positive results. As for mechanisms, earnings explain 40% of the estimates, but earlier proposed hypotheses based on school-age peer characteristics have little explanatory power. Our findings imply that restrictions on individuals' choices, to improve human capital allocations, entail costs that may have been underestimated.
Subjects: 
field of study
health
secondary education
JEL: 
I10
I21
I24
J24
J28
J32
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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