Does Economic Growth and Development Affect Mental Diseases? Evidence from Developing and Least Developed Countries

While the process of economic growth and development reflects on societies as an increase in welfare, it can also lead to negative effects such as pollution and the emergence of some diseases. Population growth and the stresses and pressures of urban life also lead to an increase in mental diseases. The study aims to investigate the relationship between mental diseases and important development indicators such as income, population, and health in underdeveloped and developing countries. In the study, the Kuznets model was used to investigate mental diseases in 119 different countries for the period 1995-2019 using the variables of income per capita, life expectancy at birth, birth rate per woman, and number of people per square kilometer. In the estimation process, based on the results of the quantile regression test, it was found that there is a "U" shaped relationship between mental diseases and per capita income for many quantile levels. The turning point for mental illness about per capita income level was calculated to be approximately 2000 dollars for the average of different quantile levels. It can be said that developing policies for the risks caused by urban life and crowded populations in societies that strive for economic growth and development will provide advantages to countries in the process of reducing mental diseases.