Worrying about the stock market: Evidence from hospital admissions*

Using individual patient records for every hospital in California from 19832011, we find a strong inverse link between daily stock returns and hospital admissions, particularly for psychological conditions such as anxiety, panic disorder, or major depression. The effect is nearly instantaneous for psychological conditions (within the same day), suggesting that anticipation over future consumption directly influences instantaneous utility. *We have benefited from discussions with Chad Cotti, Richard Dunnand, Sheridan Titman, Nate Tefft and Paul Tetlock. We thank seminar participants at UC Berkeley (Haas), UC San Diego (Economics), UC Irvine, UC Berkeley (Economics), Michigan State, University of Miami, University of Alabama, Washington State University, Tulane University, Arizona State University, Drexel University, Georgia State University, the 2014 Southern California Finance Conference and the 2014 AFA Meeting. All errors are our own. ‡ Contact: Both authors are affiliated with the Rady School of Management at the University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037.