Local Financialization, Financial Distress, and Deaths of Despair

This chapter examines whether local financialization causally affects mortality through its effect on household financial distress. I propose a conceptual chain running from local financialization to credit-market fragility, to financial distress, to socioeconomic stressors, to deaths of despair, and plan to identify this channel using a two-stage least squares design at the state and county level. This chapter is at an early stage: I have developed the conceptual framework, empirical design, and candidate data sources, and am now assembling the panel.

Recommended citation: Chung, Nara. "Local Financialization, Financial Distress, and Deaths of Despair." Work in progress, Colorado State University.