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on Health Economics |
| By: | Brüll, Eduard; Rostam-Afschar, Davud; Schlenker, Oliver |
| Abstract: | We study how the threat of entry affects service quantity and quality of general practitioners (GPs). We leverage Germany's needs-based primary care planning system, in which the likelihood of new GPs reduces by 20 percentage points when primary care coverage exceeds a cut-off. We compile novel data covering all German primary care regions and up to 30, 000 GP-level observations from 2014 to 2019. Reduced threat of entry lowers patient satisfaction for incumbent GPs without nearby competitors but not in areas with competitors. We find no effects on working hours or quality measures at the regional level including hospitalizations and mortality. |
| Keywords: | Entry regulation, general practitioners, healthcare provision, threat of entry, regression discontinuity design |
| JEL: | I11 I18 J44 J22 L10 L22 R23 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cexwps:305253 |
| By: | Yakymovych, Yaroslav (Institute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University) |
| Abstract: | Sickness insurance guarantees employees the right to take leave from work when they are sick, but is vulnerable to excessive use because monitoring of recipients’ health is difficult and costly. In terms of costs, it would be preferable to focus monitoring on individuals whose sickness absence it strongly affects. This paper studies targeted monitoring in the setting of a large-scale randomised experiment where medical certificate requirements were relaxed for some workers. I employ a machine learning method, the generalised random forest, to identify heterogeneous effects on the duration of workers’ sickness absence spells. This allows me to compute treatment effect estimates based on an extensive set of worker characteristics and their potentially complex relationships with each other and with sickness absence duration. The individuals who are most sensitive to monitoring are characterised by a history of extensive sick leave uptake, low socioeconomic status, and male gender. The results suggest that a targeted policy can achieve the same reduction in monitoring costs as took place during the experiment at a 51 percent smaller loss in terms of increased sickness absence. Monitoring all insured individuals is estimated to be inefficient, but the benefits of targeted monitoring are estimated to exceed the costs. |
| Keywords: | Sickness Absence; Monitoring; Heterogeneous Effects; GRF |
| JEL: | C21 I18 J22 |
| Date: | 2024–11–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2024_019 |
| By: | Manuel Flores (Serra Hunter Fellow, Department of Applied Economics, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.); Fernando G. Benavides (Centre d’Investigació en Salut Laboral, Universitat Pompeu Fabra & CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health); Laura Serra-Saurina (CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health & Research Group on Statistics, Econometrics and Health (GRECS), University of Girona.) |
| Abstract: | We exploit an unexpected labor market reform to estimate the effects of a significant decrease in unemployment insurance (UI) generosity during an economic recession. On July 13, 2012, the Spanish Government reduced the replacement rate from 60% to 50% after 180 days of UI benefit receipt for all spells beginning after July 14, 2012. Using rich linked administrative data and a difference-in-differences approach, we show that the decrease in UI generosity resulted in higher sickness absence rates, thereby reducing the previously documented government savings from this reform. Our findings suggest that both financial stress and moral hazard are possible mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment insurance, sickness absence, policy reform, financial stress. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea2403 |
| By: | Xinming Du; Shan Zhang; Eric Zou |
| Abstract: | A century of plastic usage has led to an accumulation of plastic waste in waterways and oceans. Over time, these wastes break down into particles smaller than 5 microns -- or ''microplastics'' -- which can infiltrate human biological systems. Despite decades of research into this emerging source of environmental pollution, there is a paucity of direct evidence on the health impacts of microplastics exposure at a population scale. This paper reports the first empirical link between in-utero microplastic exposure and adverse birth outcomes. Our analysis is based on a compiled dataset of 3 million births that occurred in coastal areas of 15 countries spanning four continents, which we merge with a novel remote-sensing measurements of marine microplastic concentrations. We show that in-utero exposure to microplastics, particularly during the third trimester of pregnancy, leads to a significant increase in the likelihood of low birth weight. A doubling of exposure increases low birth weight hazard by 0.37 per 1, 000 births, which implies over 205, 000 cases per year globally can be attributed to microplastic exposure. We further show that aerosolization -- whereby microplastic particles become airborne and inhalable due to seawater evaporation -- is an important pathway for health impact, a challenge that is likely to escalate as ocean temperatures continue to rise. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2410.17391 |
| By: | David G. Blanchflower; Alex Bryson |
| Abstract: | We examine the mental wellbeing of the young in 18 Latin American countries using data from five cross-country comparative studies plus cross-sectional and quarterly time series data for a single country, Mexico. We examine whether there has been a decline in youth mental health and, if so, whether it has removed the U-shape in happiness and the hump-shape in unhappiness in Latin America as it has done in the United States and elsewhere. In the Global Minds data, the mental health of the young is poorer than that of older age groups. The Enbiare surveys for Mexico indicate that declining wellbeing of the young has changed the age profile of (un)happiness in that country. The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data show a decline in the mental health of school children in Latin America, and that mental ill-health is more pronounced among those who have early access to, or spend excessive time spent on, digital devices. However, in both the Gallup World Poll and the Latinobarometers the young remain happier than older age groups, even though the wellbeing of the young has declined in some Latin American countries. We speculate as to why there may be differences in trends across surveys. |
| JEL: | I31 J13 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33111 |
| By: | Huebener, Mathias (Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB)); Mahlbacher, Malin K. (University of Mainz); Schmitz, Sophia (Federal Institute for Population Research) |
| Abstract: | Increasing fathers' involvement in childcare is seen as an important strategy to reduce women's child penalties in the labour market. However, very little is known about the extent to which family policies can enhance fathers' engagement in domestic work. This paper examines the impact of the combined availability of universal childcare and paternity leave on fathers' involvement. We exploit quasi-experimental variation in the regional availability of childcare for children under three, resulting from the introduction of a universal childcare entitlement in Germany. We estimate generalised difference-in-differences models and confirm that children enter childcare significantly earlier. Fathers become more likely to take paternity leave with the expectation of mothers entering the labour market sooner. Yet, this leave is mainly taken for the minimum period, together with the mother, and towards the end of the first year. Fathers' subsequent roles as caregivers, as well as their labour market outcomes, remain largely unaffected. Overall, increased childcare availability primarily substitutes maternal care; significant family policy efforts could not immediately alter fathers' caregiving responsibilities within the family. |
| Keywords: | public childcare, family policies, parental leave, paternal involvement |
| JEL: | J13 J16 J18 J22 D13 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17422 |
| By: | Black, Nicole (Monash University); Johnston, David W. (Monash University); Shields, Michael A. (Monash University); Trinh, Trong-Anh (Monash University) |
| Abstract: | We study the extent of horizontal inequity in children's mental healthcare use in Australia, where universal insurance aims to provide equitable access to needed treatment, regardless of ability to pay. We use linked longitudinal survey data and administrative records that measure the need for mental healthcare - via screening questionnaires and general practitioner (GP) diagnosis - and use of mental health professionals and medication. Using between- and within-child approaches, we find that conditional on need, children from lower income families are significantly less likely to receive services from clinical psychologists than children from higher income households. However, we see little evidence of income inequities in receiving mental health services from GPs or general psychologists. We show that differences in out-of-pocket fees are a likely explanation. The findings highlight that specific support to low-income families is needed to reduce inequities in accessing a complete range of mental health services. |
| Keywords: | child mental health, mental health treatment, unmet mental health need, horizontal inequity, income inequity |
| JEL: | I12 I14 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17409 |
| By: | Herbst, Chris M. (Arizona State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the random assignment of poor families to treatment and control conditions in the Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) to isolate the causal effect of center-based child care enrollment on child well-being. Operating throughout the early-1990's, the CCDP demonstration aimed to improve child development and family functioning by offering those in the treatment group five years of high-quality child care along with case management. As a result, treated children were substantially more likely to be enrolled in center-based programs throughout the preschool-age years, and I use this variation to estimate the impact of center care on children's language and social skills as well as health. I uncover mixed results: more time spent in center-based settings improves language skills but reduces social skills in the short-run, and both effects fade-out for most children within one to two years. I also find that early center care use is strongly predictive of later Head Start enrollment, indicating that a more deliberate "family retention strategy" may be effective at lengthening children's exposure to high-quality early education. |
| Keywords: | child care, child development, maternal employment, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | I21 J13 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17430 |
| By: | Michah W. Rothbart (Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, 426 Eggers Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244); Colleen Heflin (Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, 426 Eggers Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244); Gabriella Alphonso |
| Abstract: | Literacy is critical for numerous developmental outcomes and wellbeing among children. Low literacy skills in childhood can also negatively affect individuals in adulthood. Using data from nearly 300, 000 kindergarten students in Virginia (2014-2017), this study finds that children in households that participate in more than one social assistance program (such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Free or Reduced-Price Lunch) have lower literacy skills when they enter kindergarten than children whose households participate in fewer or no social programs. |
| Keywords: | Child Health, Literacy, Food Insecurity, Social Welfare Policy |
| Date: | 2023–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:max:cprpbr:1 |
| By: | Evan D. Peet; David Powell; Rosalie Liccardo Pacula |
| Abstract: | Naloxone is a life-saving medication which helps reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Improving naloxone access is a central pillar of the federal response to the worsening opioid crisis in the United States. Existing studies have evaluated the effects of state naloxone access laws, including those that permit naloxone to be dispensed by pharmacies directly to consumers. However, this literature has ignored the role of pharmaceutical innovations like Narcan. Narcan, introduced to the marketplace in February 2016, is a naloxone nasal spray that permits laypersons to successfully administer the drug without training. We first test the hypothesis that naloxone access laws alone increased the distribution of naloxone prior to Narcan, followed by testing the hypothesis that the introduction of Narcan further expanded naloxone’s distribution and its life-saving impacts. We analyze cross-state variation in the adoption of naloxone access laws and their timing relative to Narcan’s introduction. We find that states with naloxone access laws permitting pharmacists to dispense to consumers experienced substantially greater naloxone dispensing after Narcan’s introduction, effects that far outpaced the independent effects of the laws themselves. We also find that while these naloxone access laws did not reduce non-synthetic opioid-related mortality rates on their own, once Narcan was introduced, these mortality rates significantly declined. These findings indicate the important interaction of innovation and policy. |
| JEL: | I1 I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33105 |
| By: | Ahomäki, Iiro (University of Jyväskylä); Böckerman, Petri (University of Jyväskylä); Pehkonen, Jaakko (Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics); Saastamoinen, Leena (Finnish Medicines Agency) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of an information intervention on opioid prescribing using a preregistered research design and comprehensive nationwide register data. The intervention involved a personal letter sent to all Finnish physicians who had prescribed oxycodone or fentanyl to a patient who had purchased at least three months' supply of these medications in the previous year. These physicians were randomized into the treatment and control groups. The letter was sent to physicians in the treatment group in May 2019, and the control group received the same letter six months later. The intervention letter contained information about opioid use and proper pain treatment using opioids based on national clinical guidelines. While the intervention showed no significant effects in the whole study population, we detected heterogeneity in effect with respect to preregistered physician characteristics. We observed a 22% reduction in fentanyl and oxycodone prescriptions to new patients among physicians receiving their first information letter, a 4.8% reduction in any opioid prescriptions among high-volume prescribers as well as an increase of 7% in nonopioid analgesic prescribing among low-volume prescribers. These results highlight the challenges policymakers encounter when attempting to sustainably reduce opioid prescriptions and mitigate harmful clinical practices through repeated information-based interventions. |
| Keywords: | opioid prescribing, information intervention, randomized experiment |
| JEL: | I10 I12 I19 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17416 |
| By: | Facundo Arga\~naraz; Juan Carlos Escanciano |
| Abstract: | Models with Conditional Moment Restrictions (CMRs) are popular in economics. These models involve finite and infinite dimensional parameters. The infinite dimensional components include conditional expectations, conditional choice probabilities, or policy functions, which might be flexibly estimated using Machine Learning tools. This paper presents a characterization of locally debiased moments for regular models defined by general semiparametric CMRs with possibly different conditioning variables. These moments are appealing as they are known to be less affected by first-step bias. Additionally, we study their existence and relevance. Such results apply to a broad class of smooth functionals of finite and infinite dimensional parameters that do not necessarily appear in the CMRs. As a leading application of our theory, we characterize debiased machine learning for settings of treatment effects with endogeneity, giving necessary and sufficient conditions. We present a large class of relevant debiased moments in this context. We then propose the Compliance Machine Learning Estimator (CML), based on a practically convenient orthogonal relevant moment. We show that the resulting estimand can be written as a convex combination of conditional local average treatment effects (LATE). Altogether, CML enjoys three appealing properties in the LATE framework: (1) local robustness to first-stage estimation, (2) an estimand that can be identified under a minimal relevance condition, and (3) a meaningful causal interpretation. Our numerical experimentation shows satisfactory relative performance of such an estimator. Finally, we revisit the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, analyzed by Finkelstein et al. (2012). We find that the use of machine learning and CML suggest larger positive effects on health care utilization than previously determined. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2410.23785 |
| By: | Wielgoszewska, Bożena (University College London); Bryson, Alex (University College London); Joshi, Heather (University College London); Wilkinson, David (University College London) |
| Abstract: | Working from home (wfh) has seen a rise in prevalence, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it is widely believed that wfh enables employees to better combine paid work with domestic duties, potentially enhancing work-life balance, emerging evidence suggests that it may also hinder career advancement and adversely affect mental health, with notable impacts on women. We employ longitudinal data from three British Cohort Studies, collected one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, to investigate the characteristics of those who report working from home and the relationship with gender disparities in hourly wages, mental health, and well-being. Using longitudinal data also allows us to control for cohort members' labour market situation prior to the pandemic, thereby helping to isolate the pandemic's effects. Our findings indicate that individuals who work from home typically receive higher wages compared to those who work from employers' premises, but the gender wage gap is most pronounced among those who work from home. Furthermore, consistent with the flexibility paradox, our analysis reveals that women who work from home - particularly those who work hybrid - experience the most detrimental mental health outcomes. |
| Keywords: | gender, employment, remote working, working from home, hourly earnings, mental health, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | E51 G21 G28 I2 J16 R51 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17405 |
| By: | Katsiaryna Bahamazava (Department of Mathematical Sciences G.L. Lagrange, Politecnico di Torino, Italy) |
| Abstract: | We present a theoretical framework assessing the economic implications of bias in AI-powered emergency response systems. Integrating health economics, welfare economics, and artificial intelligence, we analyze how algorithmic bias affects resource allocation, health outcomes, and social welfare. By incorporating a bias function into health production and social welfare models, we quantify its impact on demographic groups, showing that bias leads to suboptimal resource distribution, increased costs, and welfare losses. The framework highlights efficiency-equity trade-offs and provides economic interpretations. We propose mitigation strategies, including fairness-constrained optimization, algorithmic adjustments, and policy interventions. Our findings offer insights for policymakers, emergency service providers, and technology developers, emphasizing the need for AI systems that are efficient and equitable. By addressing the economic consequences of biased AI, this study contributes to policies and technologies promoting fairness, efficiency, and social welfare in emergency response services. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2410.20229 |
| By: | A. Adegboye, Oyelola (Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Australia); Fujii, Tomoki (School of Economics, Singapore Management University, Singapore); Leung, Denis Heng-Yan (School of Economics, Singapore Management University, Singapore); Li, Siyu (School of Economics, Singapore Management University, Singapore) |
| Abstract: | HIV estimation using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) is limited by the presence of non-response and test refusals. Conventional adjustments such as imputation require the data to be missing at random. Methods that use instrumental variables allow the possibility that prevalence is different between the respondents and non-respondents, but their performance depends critically on the validity of the instrument. Using Manski’s partial identification approach, we form instrumental variable bounds for HIV prevalence from a pool of candidate instruments. Our method does not require all candidate instruments to be valid. We use a simulation study to evaluate and compare our method against its competitors. We illustrate the proposed method using DHS data from Zambia, Malawi and Kenya. Our simulations show that imputation leads to seriously biased results even under mild violations of non-random missingness. Using worst case identification bounds that do not make assumptions about the non-response mechanism is robust but not informative. By taking the union of instrumental variable bounds balances informativeness of the bounds and robustness to inclusion of some invalid instruments. Non-response and refusals are ubiquitous in population based HIV data such as those collected under the DHS. Partial identification bounds provide a robust solution to HIV prevalence estimation without strong assumptions. Union boundsare significantly more informative than the worst case bounds without sacrificing credibility |
| Date: | 2024–11–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:smuesw:2024_004 |
| By: | Yong Suk Lee; Toshiaki Iizuka; Karen Eggleston |
| Abstract: | How do employment, tasks, and productivity change with robot adoption? Unlike manufacturing, little is known about these issues in the service sector, where robot adoption is expanding. As a first step towards filling this gap, we study Japanese nursing homes using original facility-level panel data that includes the different robots used and the tasks performed. We find that robot adoption is accompanied by an increase in employment and retention and the relationship is strongest for non-regular care workers and monitoring robots. The share of specific tasks performed by robots increases with the adoption of the respective type of robot, leading to reallocation of care worker effort to “human touch” tasks that support quality care. Robots are associated with improved quality (reduction in restraint use and pressure ulcers) and productivity. |
| JEL: | I11 J14 J23 O30 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33116 |
| By: | Kotschy, Rainer (Harvard School of Public Health); Bloom, David E. (Harvard School of Public Health); Scott, Andrew (London Business School) |
| Abstract: | Analysis of population aging is typically framed in terms of chronological age. However, chronological age itself is not necessarily deeply informative about the aging process. This paper reviews literature and conducts empirical analyses aimed at investigating whether chronological age is a reliable proxy for physiological functioning when used in models of economic behavior and outcomes. We show that chronological age is an unreliable proxy for physiological functioning due to appreciable differences in how aging unfolds across people, health domains, and over time. We further demonstrate that chronological age either fails to predict economic variables when used in lieu of physiological functioning, or that it predicts additional effects on economic behavior and outcomes that are largely unrelated to physiological aging. Continued reliance on chronological age as a proxy for physiological functioning might impede the ability of societies to fully harness the benefits of increasing longevity. |
| Keywords: | population aging, chronological aging, physiological aging, physiological functioning, longevity |
| JEL: | I10 I30 J10 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17427 |
| By: | Colleen Heflin (Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, 426 Eggers Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244); Chinedum O. Ojinnaka (Arizona State University); Irma A. Arteaga (University of Missouri-Columbia); Leslie Hodges; Gabriella Alphonso (Maxwell School, Syracuse University) |
| Abstract: | For older adults with hypertension, medication adherence is critical to decreasing hospitalization, poor health outcomes, and healthcare costs. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—the largest food and nutrition assistance program in the United States—could protect against medication non-adherence. This brief summarizes the findings from a recent study, which linked Missouri Medicaid administrative claims data to SNAP data from 2006 to 2014. The findings suggest that longer and consistent receipt of SNAP benefits was associated with higher levels of antihypertensive medication adherence among Medicaid-insured individuals aged 60 years and older. |
| Keywords: | SNAP, Older Adults, Medication Adherence |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:max:cprpbr:2 |
| By: | Perelman, Sergio (Université de Liège); Pestieau, Pierre (Université catholique de Louvain, LIDAM/CORE, Belgium) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to explore the diverse strategies employed by various countries in managing end-oflife care. It examines the interplay between the State, the marketplace, and the family in navigating this critical phase of the human lifecycle. The core argument presented advocates for a paradigm shift away from intensive medical interventions towards an increased emphasis on palliative care. This proposed transition holds significant potential benefits, including the reduction of social insurance costs, minimizing out-of-pocket expenditures for families, and alleviating unnecessary suffering for patients. |
| Keywords: | End-of-life care ; palliative care ; aggressive medical intervention ; healthcare costs |
| Date: | 2024–03–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cor:louvco:2024005 |
| By: | Cruzatti C., John (ISS, Erasmus University Rotterdam); Rieger, Matthias (ISS, Erasmus University Rotterdam) |
| Abstract: | A substantial share of the world's children reside in disaster-prone areas and suffer from stunted growth. Child growth in the first 1000 days of life can falter depending on health endowments and investments. We investigate growth faltering and catch-up in children exposed to comparable earthquakes in utero. Our analysis leverages within cluster or mother variation, controls for temporal trends, and utilizes a global sample of localized data spanning several decades. On average, we document modest adverse effects on children's height that are more pronounced when earthquakes are more unexpected and higher in magnitude. These average effects, however, conceal negative short-term effects and posterior recovery mechanisms via parental health investments, economic recouping, and foreign aid, which facilitate subsequent catch-up growth of children. We discuss our findings and contributions within the literature on child health and disasters, which has largely been confined to single-country studies. |
| Keywords: | child health, natural disasters, global evidence, local data, aid |
| JEL: | I15 I18 J13 O15 Q54 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17372 |
| By: | Ekaterina Oparina; Andrew E. Clark; Richard Layard |
| Abstract: | We use Gallup World Poll data from over 150 countries from 2009-2019 at both the individual and country levels to revisit the relationship between income and subjective wellbeing. Our inspiration is the paradox first proposed by Easterlin (1974), according to which higher incomes are associated with greater happiness in cross-sections yet increases in a country's GDP per head do not increase its average wellbeing. In our analysis subjective wellbeing (or happiness) is measured by the Cantril ladder on a 0-10 scale. Across individuals, other things equal, one unit of log income raises subjective wellbeing by 0.4 points. In other words, doubling income raises wellbeing by 0.3 points out of 10. Across countries, a crude regression of log income on per capita income gives a higher coefficient of 0.6. But, once social variables like health and social support are introduced, the picture changes. In rich countries, income no longer has a significant effect, either in country cross-sections or in time series: higher income only matters due to its correlation with the social variables. For low-income countries the result is also clear cut - income raises happiness in both cross-section and time series, whether the social variables are controlled for or not. For middle income countries the result is mixed. |
| Keywords: | subjective wellbeing, income, GDP, Easterlin paradox, public goods |
| Date: | 2024–11–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2048 |
| By: | Wiebe, Michael |
| Abstract: | Atwood (2022b) reports a positive effect of the 1963 measles vaccine on long-run economic outcomes. The identifying variation is from pre-vaccine average reported measles incidence, but this plausibly represents reporting capacity or initial health levels, rather than actual disease incidence. I extend the sample and use an event study to test for differential trends, and find trends that are inconsistent with a treatment effect of the vaccine. |
| JEL: | I12 I18 J22 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:177 |
| By: | Alexander M. Danzer; Helen Zeidler |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates time inconsistencies in food consumption based on a field experiment at a college canteen where participants repeatedly select and con- sume lunch menus. The design features a convex non-monetary budget in a natu- ral environment and satisfies the consume-on-receipt assumption. Leveraging 3, 666 choices of different food healthiness, we find no time inconsistency at the meal level. Utility weight estimates at the dish level reveal that consumers balance healthiness between food categories. Individuals who exert self-control take up a commitment device as soon as available, while non-committers are present-biased. Dynamic inconsistencies in food and money choices are independent. |
| Keywords: | Field Experiment, Dynamic Inconsistency, Commitment, Food Consumption |
| JEL: | D12 D01 C93 D91 I12 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bav:wpaper:239_danzer_zeidler.rdf |
| By: | Costa-Font, Joan; Docrat, Fatima |
| Abstract: | A number of minority ethnic groups (MEGs) exhibited persistent reluctance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This paper attempts to empirically identify some of the contentious behavioral determinants for vaccine hesitancy (VH) that remain unexplained including the role of risk perceptions, trust in government institutions, and prior experiences of racism and trauma. We draw on unique longitudinal data from a minority-boosted sample that was collected in the United Kingdon (UK). We document robust evidence of MEG disparities in VH, which declined between November 2020 and March 2021. While VH is associated to both historical and current distrust in government, risk beliefs, exposure to racism, and an individuals socio-economic background, these factors do not fully explain MEG disparities. Furthermore, similar patterns of inequality are observed when we examine MEG disparities in healthcare use, suggesting that disparities in VH reflect broader unobservable structural barriers to healthcare access. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19; vaccination hesitancy; ethnicity; race; minority ethic group; health care access |
| JEL: | I18 |
| Date: | 2024–12–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:125725 |
| By: | OYEDELE, Gbeminiyi Joshua; Shanker, Ankit; Tildesley, Michael J.; Vlaev, Ivo |
| Abstract: | This study presents an analysis of the direct and indirect effects of the behavioural determinants of Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation, the necessary and sufficient conditions for any behaviour change, on self-isolation behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Uniquely, we also explore the causal interactions between these variables, unveiling the most significant contributors to individuals' decisions to self-isolate. Using a retrospective dataset from the UK Office for National Statistics' 2019 Opinion and Lifestyle Survey, we applied a sophisticated structural equation model to dissect the behavioural dynamics. Our findings are striking in that both opportunity and motivation exert a direct and significant impact on self-isolation, while capability influences behaviour indirectly through the mediating power of motivation. This pioneering analysis offers a powerful framework for future public health strategies, providing critical insights into how we can better engage the public in self-isolation behaviours to ensure more effective compliance in the face of future pandemics. |
| Date: | 2024–10–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:wgka2 |
| By: | Schroeter, Sofia (University of Lausanne); Lalive, Rafael (University of Lausanne); Karunanethy, Kalaivani (University of Lausanne) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the labor supply responses of parents to anticipated school closures due to school holidays and unanticipated school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. Using the variation in the timing of school holidays by region, we find that while both fathers and mothers reduce hours worked in response to school holiday closures, fathers reduce theirs much more than mothers. To identify the effects of pandemic school closures, we focus on marginal workers – those in occupations that were resilient to the pandemic labor demand shocks but had limited ability to work remotely and therefore, faced the greatest challenge in meeting increased child care needs. We find that the unanticipated pandemic school closures reduced the hours worked of parents somewhat less than for workers without children. We find almost no negative effects on mothers, while for fathers, we find that their labor supply was affected less than that of men without children. In our heterogeneity analyses, we discover that fathers of older children and/or with greater ability to work remotely were the least affected by these school closures. This suggests that parents were able to successfully accommodate the increased child care needs due to lack of in-person schooling without any negative impact on their labor supply. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, school closures, lockdown measures, parental labor supply, gender |
| JEL: | D13 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17371 |
| By: | Belloc, Ignacio (University of Zaragoza); Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio (University of Zaragoza); Molina, José Alberto (University of Zaragoza) |
| Abstract: | Telework has gained increasing popularity in recent years, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, and is often considered a work practice that contributes to environmental sustainability by reducing commuting trips. However, the existing literature presents mixed findings regarding its potential effects on other types of travel, such as leisure and personal care trips. This paper examines the relationship between telework and daily travel time, utilizing data from the 2023 Extended Light Diary Digital Instrument (ELiDDI) survey, a nationally representative time use survey conducted in the UK in March 2023. Our findings indicate that teleworkers spend fewer minutes (e.g., 61 minutes) traveling per day compared to those working away from home, a result that remains robust even after excluding daily commuting time, suggesting that telework may lead to significant daily travel time savings. Further exploration reveals that telework is primarily related to reduced travel time for personal and housework-related activities, particularly among male teleworkers. These findings suggest that promoting telework policies could be an effective strategy not only for reducing commuting trips but also for achieving broader reductions in daily travel time, which may contribute to sustainability goals in the transportation sector and alleviate transportation-related environmental impacts. |
| Keywords: | daily travel time, travel purposes, telework, time use, ELiDDI data, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | J21 J22 R41 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17413 |