Body Positivity
People think the everyday effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are not as bad for people in poverty
Nathan Cheek
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, forthcoming
Abstract:
Many of the everyday restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., lockdowns, being apart from loved ones) are even worse for those with fewer financial and material resources, but a series of experiments (total N = 1,452) suggests that people think the opposite. Indeed, participants consistently displayed a "thick skin bias," whereby they perceived effects of the pandemic such as sheltering at home or remaining apart from loved ones as less harmful for people in poverty. Directly providing information that contradicted this misguided stereotype reduced, but did not completely reverse, the thick skin bias. A failure to understand the full impact of the pandemic for those with the fewest resources may perpetuate and exacerbate inequalities during and after this unprecedented global crisis, making the identification of strategies to counteract biased understandings of poverty a pressing priority for future research.
Place Effects and Geographic Inequality in Health at Birth
Na'ama Shenhav & Eric Chyn
NBER Working Paper, September 2022
Abstract:
This paper uses birth records from California and mothers who move to quantify the absolute and relative importance of birth location in early-life health. Using a model that includes mother and location fixed effects, we find that moving from a below- to an above-median birth weight location leads to a 19-gram increase in average birth weight. These causal place effects explain 16 percent of geographic variation in birth weight, with family-specific factors accounting for the remaining 84 percent. Place effects are more influential for children of non-college-educated mothers, and are most strongly correlated with local levels of pollution. The improvement in birth weight from moving to a higher-quality area compares favorably to policies that target maternal health, and could have a small, lasting effect on long-run outcomes.
State Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Associated With A Decline In Emergency Department Use In The US, 2011-19
Yanlei Ma et al.
Health Affairs, August 2022, Pages 1169-1175
Abstract:
Paid sick leave provides workers with job-protected paid time off to address short-term illnesses or seek preventive care for themselves and their family members. We studied the impact of mandatory paid sick leave at the state level on emergency department (ED) visit rates, using all-payer, longitudinal ED data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project for the period 2011-19. We found that state implementation of paid sick leave mandates was associated with a 5.6 percent reduction in the total ED visit rate relative to the baseline, equivalent to 23 fewer visits per 1,000 population per year. The reduction was concentrated in Medicaid patients. Some of the largest reductions were ED visits related to adult dental conditions, adult mental health or substance use disorders, and pediatric asthma. Mandatory paid sick leave may be an effective policy lever to reduce excess ED use and costs.
Is marijuana really a gateway drug? A nationally representative test of the marijuana gateway hypothesis using a propensity score matching design
Cody Jorgensen & Jessica Wells
Journal of Experimental Criminology, September 2022, Pages 497-514
Abstract:
Marijuana use has been proposed to serve as a "gateway" that increases the likelihood that users will engage in subsequent use of harder and more harmful substances, known as the marijuana gateway hypothesis (MGH). The current study refines and extends the literature on the MGH by testing the hypothesis using rigorous quasi-experimental, propensity score-matching methodology in a nationally representative sample. Using three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (1994-2002), eighteen propensity score-matching tests of the marijuana gateway hypothesis were conducted. Six of the eighteen tests were statistically significant; however, only three were substantively meaningful. These three tests found weak effects of frequent marijuana use on illicit drug use but they were also sensitive to hidden bias. Results from this study indicate that marijuana use is not a reliable gateway cause of illicit drug use. As such, prohibition policies are unlikely to reduce illicit drug use.
The Causal Effects of Youth Cigarette Addiction and EducationRong Hai & James Heckman
NBER Working Paper, July 2022
Abstract:
We develop and estimate a life-cycle model in a rational addiction framework where youth choose to smoke, attend school, work part-time, and consume while facing borrowing constraints. The model features multiple channels for studying the reciprocal causal effects of addiction and education. Variations in endowments and cigarette prices are sources of identification. We show that education causally reduces smoking. A counterfactual experiment finds that in absence of cigarettes, college attendance rises by three percentage points in the population. A practical alternative of 40% additional excise tax achieves similar results. Impacts vary substantially across persons of different cognitive and non-cognitive abilities.
Making a Smooth Exit? Menthol Bans and Cigarette Sales in Massachusetts
Ali Goli, Simha Mummalaneni & Pradeep Chintagunta
University of Washington Working Paper, July 2022
Abstract:
Public health regulators in the United States are currently advocating for a ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes because they are believed to be more dangerous than traditional non-menthol cigarettes. However, these bans will have limited benefits if consumers are able to circumvent them. We examine this issue by evaluating the effects of a statewide menthol ban that was instituted by Massachusetts in 2020. An examination of store-level retail sales data from Massachusetts indicates that some demand shifted from menthols to non-menthols after the ban was instituted, thereby supporting the goals of the ban. However, broadening our analysis to neighboring states shows a sharp increase in menthol sales in areas just outside the Massachusetts border, thereby suggesting that many Massachusetts residents were able to get around the ban by engaging in cross-state shopping for menthol cigarettes. This cross-state shopping is damaging because it reduces the tax revenue for Massachusetts while also not yielding any positive public health benefits among its population. We estimate a structural model that allows us to provide policymakers with guidance regarding the benefits of alternative policies, and we show that a statewide menthol tax might be preferable over either a statewide menthol ban or a national ban because it yields sizable reductions in smoking activity while also generating up to 14% in additional tax revenue.
Mortality during resource booms and busts
Boslett & Elaine Hill
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, September 2022
Abstract:
Using national data on county-level mortality, coal mining, and shale development, we examine the effects of resource booms and busts on mortality in the United States. We find evidence that decreases in operating coal mines increased total all-cause mortality, non-drug mortality, and opioid overdose mortality, especially for counties with greater than 10 operating coal mines in 2000. Our model results for drug overdose mortality and opioid overdose mortality are sensitive to the panel's start year. For shale development, the shale boom is associated with increases in non-drug suicides but otherwise had little impact on mortality. Our findings suggest a potential role for job-training programs and the cultivation of local healthcare resources in regions suffering coal busts and suicide prevention in areas with shale development.
Monthly income volatility and health outcomes
Neil Bania & Laura Leete
Contemporary Economic Policy, October 2022, Pages 636-658
Abstract:
A growing literature shows that income volatility has negative effects on household well-being. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we use temporal ordering to investigate the relationship between monthly household income volatility and the subsequent change in self-reported health status of the household head. For liquidity constrained households, a one standard deviation increase in volatility over 24 months leads to a 1.3%-4.3% increase in the probability of worsened health. The magnitude of this effect is approximately two-thirds that of the impact of a one standard deviation change in the level of mean household income.
Synthetic cannabinoid poisonings and access to the legal cannabis market: Findings from US national poison centre data 2016-2019
Tracy Klein et al.
Clinical Toxicology, forthcoming
Methods: A retrospective study of National Poison Data System (NPDS) data from 2016 to 2019 identified and associated synthetic poisoning reports with annual state cannabis law and market status. State status was categorised as restrictive (cannabis illegal or limited medical legalisation), medical (allowing THC-containing medical cannabis use) and permissive (allowing non-medical use of THC-containing cannabis by adults). We categorised a subset of states with permissive policies by their implementation of legal adult possession/use and opening retail markets, on a quarterly basis. Mixed-effects Poisson regression models assessed synthetic exposures associated with legal status, first among all states using annual counts, and then among states that implemented permissive law alone using quarterly counts.
Results: A total of 7600 exposures were reported during the study period. Overall, reported synthetic exposures declined over time. Most reported exposures (64.8%) required medical attention, and 61 deaths were documented. State implementation of medical cannabis law was associated with 13% fewer reported annual exposures. Adoption of permissive state cannabis policy was independently and significantly associated with 37% lower reported annual synthetic exposures, relative to restrictive policies (IRR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.50-0.79). Among states with permissive law during the period, implementation of legal adult possession/use was associated with 22% fewer reported quarterly exposures. Opening of retail markets was associated with 36% fewer reported exposures, relative to states with medical cannabis only.
Grocery Store Closures and Household Nutritional Choices
Sylvia Hristakeva & Julia Levine
University of California Working Paper, June 2022
Abstract:
We analyze the impact of a temporary shock to food supply on households' dietary choices. We use hurricane-induced closures of grocery stores, focusing on temporary closures. Results show that store closures influence households' purchasing patterns even after the grocery store has reopened. We find a decrease in the nutritional value of purchase baskets of treated households for the nine-month period after the store has reopened, despite no change in total expenditures. Our findings support the hypothesis that supply factors play a substantive role in shaping household diets.