Poor Mental Health and Its Impact on Governance Integrity in Developing Economies

Governance has traditionally been evaluated through political, economic, and institutional considerations, but new research indicates that bad mental health, and especially untreated anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders, can greatly undermine decision-making capabilities and institutional performance. Importantly, the perception of corruption among politicians and administrators has been described as being associated with heightened mental health-related manifestations. However, the direction of the associations between corruption and mental health is not well understood. Thus, there is a need to review and provide insight into the importance of integrating mental health into governance reform agendas in regions with high structural vulnerabilities. Therefore, this editorial spotlights mental illness as a crucial, though neglected, determinant of accountable, transparent governance, especially in developing economies, by probing the psyche at the roots of institutional behavior.