Social science & medicine (1982) · 2026
Liquidity shock mitigation and mental health: Evidence from pension withdrawals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile.
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Duarte Fabián, Jiménez-Molina Álvaro
Аннотация
BACKGROUND: The relationship between income and mental health has been widely documented, yet evidence on the effects of mitigating income shocks remains limited and context dependent. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chile implemented an exceptional policy allowing individuals to withdraw a portion of their pension savings, constituting a large-scale, untargeted mechanism for mitigating the liquidity shock that affected diverse socioeconomic groups.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association between pension fund withdrawals and mental health among the adult population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile.
METHODS: Using longitudinal data (2018-2022) from a nationally representative sample of the Chilean adult population, we estimate the association between pension fund withdrawals and depressive symptoms. A matched difference-in-differences (DiD) design was employed, combining propensity score matching with panel data analysis to account for baseline differences and unobserved time-invariant confounders. Depressive symptoms were measured using the PHQ-9 scale.
FINDINGS: Pension fund withdrawals were associated with a significant reduction in the likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms. On average, individuals who withdrew funds showed a 7.1 percentage point decrease in the probability of reporting moderate to severe depressive symptoms compared to those who did not. This corresponds to a reduction of 0.165 standard deviations in depressive symptom scores. Heterogeneity analyses revealed that the effect was particularly pronounced among women and among individuals with high levels of perceived debt burden.
INTERPRETATION: Pension fund withdrawals were associated with reduced depressive symptoms, particularly among women and individuals with high perceived debt burden. While functioning as a de facto economic intervention during the COVID-19 crisis in Chile, such measures pose long-term risks to retirement security and underscore the need for institutionalized social protection policies that incorporate mental health considerations.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association between pension fund withdrawals and mental health among the adult population during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile.
METHODS: Using longitudinal data (2018-2022) from a nationally representative sample of the Chilean adult population, we estimate the association between pension fund withdrawals and depressive symptoms. A matched difference-in-differences (DiD) design was employed, combining propensity score matching with panel data analysis to account for baseline differences and unobserved time-invariant confounders. Depressive symptoms were measured using the PHQ-9 scale.
FINDINGS: Pension fund withdrawals were associated with a significant reduction in the likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms. On average, individuals who withdrew funds showed a 7.1 percentage point decrease in the probability of reporting moderate to severe depressive symptoms compared to those who did not. This corresponds to a reduction of 0.165 standard deviations in depressive symptom scores. Heterogeneity analyses revealed that the effect was particularly pronounced among women and among individuals with high levels of perceived debt burden.
INTERPRETATION: Pension fund withdrawals were associated with reduced depressive symptoms, particularly among women and individuals with high perceived debt burden. While functioning as a de facto economic intervention during the COVID-19 crisis in Chile, such measures pose long-term risks to retirement security and underscore the need for institutionalized social protection policies that incorporate mental health considerations.