This paper examines whether maternity leave policies have a causal effect on women's mental health in old age. We link data for women aged 50 and above from eight countries in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to data on maternity leave legislation from 1960 to 2010....

This paper examines whether maternity leave policies have a causal effect on women's mental health in old age. We link data for women aged 50 and above from eight countries in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to data on maternity leave legislation from 1960 to 2010....

A large literature has emerged around the strong association between income inequality and average life expectancy and a range of health outcomes including mental well being. Three possible explanations for the association have been offered: that the association is a statistical artefact; the...

This paper uses a new large population survey from twelve European countries to measure the association between handedness and depression. It is found that depressive symptoms are significantly higher amongst left-handed men. While 19% of right handed men report experiencing depressive symptoms...

Increased pressure for labour market flexibility and increasing demand over workers' performance have fostered the idea that working conditions, in most European countries, have progressively deteriorated with adverse effects on psychological well being and mental health. This paper investigates...