• Jobs of the World
  • Mentoring Programme
  • Login for Grantees
  • Code of Conduct
  • About
    • History
    • Investigators
    • Team
  • Projects
    • GLM|LIC
      • Agricultural Labour Markets
      • Gender and Employment
      • Labour Markets in Low-Income Countries
      • Migration
      • Skill Training
    • G²LM|LIC
      • Fact & Policy
      • Fertility & Labour markets
      • Barriers to gender parity
      • The Future of Work
      • Policies & Welfare
    • COVID-19
  • Publications
    • Policy Briefs
    • Synthesis Papers
    • Working Papers
    • Published Articles
    • Book
    • Datasets
  • Events
  • For Policy Makers
Search
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
G²LM|LIC Policy Brief No. 76

The Long-Term Impact of Antidepressant Pharmacotherapy in India

Policies & Welfare
Depression Treatment and Female Performance in the Labour and Marriage Markets in India

Depression is a leading cause of disability and especially prevalent among low-income populations, where it may also perpetuate poverty. Despite the availability of effective treatments like anti-depressants, most people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) do not receive care, due to provider scarcity, stigma, and low awareness. Antidepressants are potentially scalable in LMICs, but little is known about their long-term effects. We study the seven-year impacts of an eight-month SSRI intervention offered in 2017 to 1,000 mildly to moderately depressed adults in Karnataka, India. The intervention accelerated remission by over two years without increasing relapse, but mental health and economic outcomes converged by year seven, likely due to natural recovery in the control group. However, pharmacotherapy improved participants’ awareness of treatment, beliefs about depression, and care-seeking during later episodes. Our findings suggest short-term medication can yield lasting behavioral changes, even without long-term clinical effects.

G²LM|LIC Policy Brief No. 76

The Long-Term Impact of Antidepressant Pharmacotherapy in India

  • Daniel Bennett
  • Manuela Angelucci
Download the PDF

sidebar

Subscribe to our mailing list
Contact us
Follow us on Bluesky
Follow us on X

Established in 1998 in Bonn, Germany, IZA is an independent, non-profit research institution supported by the Deutsche Post Foundation with a focus on the analysis of global labour markets. It operates an international network of about 1,500 economists and researchers spanning across more than 50 countries.

Based on academic excellence and an ambitious publication strategy, IZA serves as a place of communication between academic science and political practice.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) leads the UK's work to end extreme poverty. We're ending the need for aid by creating jobs, unlocking the potential of girls and women, and helping to save lives when humanitarian emergencies hit.

FCDO is a ministerial department, supported by 12 agencies and public bodies.

© 2012–2025 | IZA – Institute of Labor Economics | Code of Conduct | Imprint