Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
  • “Unintended Consequences provides a provocative interpretation of the causes of the global financial crisis and the policies needed to return to rapid growth. Whether you agree or not, this analysis is well worth reading.” - Nouriel Roubini, New York University; Chairman, Roubini Global Economics
  • “…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
  • “Unintended Consequences represents the most cogent and persuasive analysis of the Financial Crisis to date.” - Andrei Shleifer, 1999 John Bates Clark Medal Winner
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • “…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
  • “Unintended Consequences is far smarter and more thought-provoking than most economics written for the general public” - Greg Mankiw, Harvard University, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors
  • “Unintended Consequences is full of substance, it is one of the must-read books of the year, and once I finish it I will be giving it a second read through right away.” - Tyler Cowen, Professor, George Mason University
  • “There are an amazing number of good ideas and interesting points made in Unintended Consequences. The thinking underlying it, and the obvious depth of understanding of the author, are very impressive.” - Steven Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics; 2004 John Bates Clark Medal
  • “Unintended Consequences offers deep and well-argued analyses on almost every issue.” - The New York Times
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Upside of Inequality Oxford Unintended Consequences

AI Summary. A study of US college students finds moderate-to-severe depression reported by 26% of students at one elite institution, 22% reporting moderate-to-severe anxiety and 10% contemplating suicide. Poorer mental health is associated with being female, little exercise, low grades, and financial aid; financial stress is associated with higher suicidal thoughts.

David Blanchflower and Bruce Sacerdote National Bureau of Economic Research
Date Posted:

Blanchflower and Sacerdote found that in 2021-2022, 10% of Dartmouth students reported suicidal ideation. Those reporting frequent financial stress were 8 ppts more likely to seriously contemplate suicide than those reporting no such stress.

How widespread is poor mental health among college students?

Core argument: At Dartmouth, 26% of students report moderate to severe depression, 22% report moderate to severe anxiety, and 10% say they contemplated suicide, even though Dartmouth ranks well compared with other institutions.

We study the determinants of poor mental health among students. We focus on elite and non-elite institutions and examine Dartmouth as a special case. Dartmouth ranks well compared to other institutions. However, around a quarter of Dartmouth students (26%) report they suffer from moderate to severe depression and 22% that they suffer from moderate, to severe, anxiety and 10% say they contemplated suicide. We find broad patterns in the data, that ill-being is higher among females, those who engage in little exercise, have low GPAs, are not athletes nor in academic clubs nor religious organizations, reside in fraternity housing or are on financial aid. Table 9 models the suicide ideation variable for Dartmouth and other universities. It is higher for those age 18-24 than for older groups and among women although that is not the case in non-elite institutions. Exercise and being a varsity athlete are associated with lower suicidal thoughts. A new result is the importance of concerns and stresses over financial situations which increases the probability of suicidal thoughts. The [financial] stress variables are highly significant, to such a degree that adding them in column 3 removes the (negative) significance of the Dartmouth variable.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. At Dartmouth, 26% of students report moderate to severe depression, 22% report moderate to severe anxiety, and 10% say they contemplated suicide, even though Dartmouth ranks well compared with other institutions.
  2. Ill-being is higher among female students, those who exercise little, have low GPAs, are not athletes or members of academic clubs or religious organizations, live in fraternity housing, or receive financial aid.
  3. Concerns over financial situations increase the probability of suicidal thoughts, and adding these highly significant stress variables removes the negative significance of the Dartmouth variable, while exercise and being a varsity athlete are associated with lower suicidal thoughts.

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  • The Girls Are Not Alright: Responses to Three Claims that the Youth Mental Health Crisis Is Exaggerated — U.S. Centers for Disease Control data on nonfatal self-harm show a 518% increase in hospitalizations following emergency department visits among girls aged 10–14, with a large rise also among girls aged 15–19. Because suicide deaths vary by sex and age, low suicide rates among teen girls do not mean teen girls are not struggling.
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