Using individuals’ life history information from a large-scale national survey (N = 12,601), we causally evaluate how exposure to SARS-Cov-1, the first global pandemic in the 21st century, affects long-term psychological well-being. We find that exposure to local pandemic risk, i.e., local deaths due to the pandemic, significantly reduced people’s mental health 12 years later. Consistent with the belief-based account of depression, exposure to pandemic risk resulted in more pessimistic beliefs about the future and survival probability. People reduced savings and increased hedonic consumption, suggesting a “carpe diem” effect of the pandemic exposure.
Geographic Coverage: China
Time Period: 2003 – 2018
Data Type(s): administrative records data; census/enumeration data; survey data
The following publications are supplemented by the data in this project.
