Effects of Education on Long-term Mental Health: Evidence From Increasing Years of Compulsory Schooling In Germany

To estimate the impact of education on long-term mental health, we examine a reform which increased the years of compulsory education in Germany. The reform affected cohorts of ninth graders in 1949–1969 in Western Germany. Variation in the year of reform implementation over federal states allows for a difference-in-difference strategy where we control for full sets of birth cohort, observation year, and federal state fixed effects. We also take account of state specific trends. Based on individual level health insurance claims data of a major health insurance company, we estimate the reform’s impact on mental health for individuals aged 50–85. The mental health indicator reflects the probability to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety disorder. Given the assumptions of the estimation strategy, we find robust protective effects of the education reform on men’s long-term mental health.