Political Movements and Mental Health: Evidence from the Anti-Corruption Campaign in China

34 Pages Posted: 3 Aug 2022 Last revised: 16 Nov 2022

See all articles by Jiawei Fu

Jiawei Fu

New York University (NYU) - New York University

Congyi Zhou

New York University

Date Written: July 12, 2022

Abstract

In this paper, we study how a political movement a ects government employees'
mental health. Using eld data from the anti-corruption campaign in China, we nd
that potential depressive symptoms among government employees signi cantly increase
under intense corruption investigations. This result is con rmed when we use the
political connection between provincial leaders and national leaders as the instrument
variable in the estimate. However, no similar result is observed among ordinary Chinese
citizens. This change in the mental health status among government employees is
a ected by corruption investigations of low-ranking ocials rather than high-ranking
ocials. Moreover, the impact of the anti-corruption campaign on depressive symptoms
is concentrated on male government employees from coastal and urban areas.

Note:
Funding Information: None to declare.

Conflict of Interests: We hereby declare that we have no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research in this paper, and no parties had the right to review the paper prior to disclosure.

Keywords: Mental Health, Corruption, Political Movement

Suggested Citation

Fu, Jiawei and Zhou, Congyi, Political Movements and Mental Health: Evidence from the Anti-Corruption Campaign in China (July 12, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4161190 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4161190

Jiawei Fu

New York University (NYU) - New York University

Bobst Library, E-resource Acquisitions
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Congyi Zhou (Contact Author)

New York University ( email )

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New York, NY 10012
United States
2129988500 (Phone)

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