Abstract

This dissertation explores how mental and physical health influence key economic outcomes over the life course, focusing on education, occupational outcomes, and workplace productivity. Using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), the study employs advanced modeling techniques, including Generalized Structural Equation Modeling (GSEM) and mixed-effects regression, to construct latent health measures and quantify their economic consequences.
The first chapter examines the impact of adolescent mental health on academic achievement, particularly high school completion and college enrollment. It addresses the limitations of using narrow diagnostic proxies for mental health by applying a factor-analytic approach to create latent constructs. The findings reveal that better mental health significantly improves educational attainment, with a stronger effect on college entry than on high school completion.
The second chapter investigates how health status shapes occupational sorting across two major classifications: white-collar and full-time employment. It finds that individuals with poor mental health are disproportionately concentrated in low skill, physically demanding, blue-collar jobs, while those with better health are more likely to enter cognitively intensive, white-collar occupations. Physical health also influences job type, reinforcing disparities in labor market access and long-term mobility.

The third chapter evaluates the effect of mental health on workplace productivity. By constructing a composite latent productivity score, based on job satisfaction, hours worked, and income, the study estimates the long-term effects of lagged health status. A one standard deviation increase in mental health is associated with a 0.0251 rise in latent productivity and a 0.0201 increase in wage measure of productivity, confirming the strong and persistent influence of psychological well-being.
Together, these chapters show that mental health is a critical determinant of economic opportunity, shaping individual outcomes from adolescence through adulthood.