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on Health Economics |
| By: | Kasy, Maximilian; Lehner, Lukas |
| Abstract: | We evaluate a guaranteed job program launched in 2020 in Austria. Our evaluation is based on three approaches, pairwise matched randomization, a pre-registered synthetic control at the municipality level, and a comparison to individuals in control municipalities. This allows us to estimate direct effects, anticipation effects, and spillover effects. We find positive impacts of program participation on economic and non-economic well-being, but not on physical health or preferences. At the municipality level, we find a large reduction of long-term unemployment, and no negative employment spillovers. There are positive anticipation effects on subjective well-being, status, and social inclusion for future participants. (Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper) |
| Date: | 2023–04–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:cd25u&r=hea |
| By: | Matteo Picchio (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University); Michele Ubaldi (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies whether individuals that experienced parental unemployment during their childhood/early adolescence have poorer health once they reach the adulthood. We used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel from 2002 until 2018. Our identification strategy of the causal effect of parental unemployment relied on plant closures as exogenous variation of the individual labor market condition. We combined matching methods and parametric estimation to strengthen the causal interpretation of the estimates. On the one hand, we found a nil effect for parental unemployment on mental health. On the other hand, we detected a negative effect on physical health. The latter is stronger if parental unemployment occurred in early periods of the childhood, and it is heterogeneous across gender. The negative effect of parental unemployment on physical health may be explained by a higher alcohol and tobacco consumption later in life. |
| Keywords: | Parental unemployment; plant closure; mental health; physical health; health behaviors |
| JEL: | I14 J13 J62 J65 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:478&r=hea |
| By: | David Neumark |
| Abstract: | The effects of minimum wages on employment, wages, earnings, and incomes, have been studied and debated for decades. In recent years, however, researchers have turned to the effects on a multitude of other behaviors and outcomes – largely related to health. I review and assess the large and growing body of evidence on minimum wage effects on a wide variety of health outcomes and health-related behaviors. The evidence on overall physical health is mixed. The findings on diet and obesity either point to beneficial or null effects, but not negative effects, while other evidence indicates that higher minimum wages increase smoking and reduce exercise. The evidence for mental health is ambiguous, with somewhat more studies finding no impact than finding a positive impact (but none finding a negative impact). And the evidence for suicide points clearly to beneficial effects of higher minimum wages. Studies on family structure and children point in different directions, with evidence that mothers spend more time with children, no clear indication of changes in treatment of children, but declines in children’s test scores. The evidence generally points to minimum wages increasing risky behavior (drinking and smoking). Evidence on the effects of minimum wages on crime is mixed. The best evidence on employer-provided health insurance is more adverse, although Medicaid expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may have mitigated this influence, and there is not clear evidence of greater unmet medical needs. Other evidence suggests that higher minimum wages may affect health adversely via different channels. |
| JEL: | H0 I14 J08 |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31191&r=hea |
| By: | Valerie Bostwick; Christopher Severen |
| Abstract: | We provide evidence that graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws, originally intended to improve public safety, impact both high school completion and teen employment. Many teens use automobiles to commute both to school and to employment. Because school and work decisions are interrelated, the effects of automobile-specific mobility restrictions are ex ante ambiguous. Combining variation in the timing of both GDL law adoption and changes in compulsory school laws into a triple-difference research design shows that restricting teen mobility significantly reduces high school dropout rates and teen employment. These findings are consistent with a model in which teens use automobiles to access educational distractions (employment or even risky behaviors). We develop a discrete choice model that reflects reduced access to school, work, and other activities, which reveals that limiting access to work alone cannot explain the reduction in high school dropout rates. |
| Keywords: | Mobility Restrictions; Human Capital; Teen Employment; GDL Laws; Multiple Discreteness |
| JEL: | J24 I20 J22 R48 C35 |
| Date: | 2022–08–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpwp:94660&r=hea |
| By: | Walls, Margaret A. (Resources for the Future); Gellman, Jacob; Wibbenmeyer, Matthew (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Wildfire activity is increasing in the western United States at a time when outdoor recreation is growing in popularity. Because peak outdoor recreation and wildfire seasons overlap, fires can disrupt recreation and expose people to poor air quality. We link daily data on campground use at 1, 069 public campgrounds across the western United States over a ten-year period to daily satellite data on wildfire and smoke. We use this data set to (1) tabulate the number of campers affected by wildfire and smoke at campgrounds across the western US, and (2) provide estimates of how campground use responds to wildfire and smoke impacts, including the first causal estimates of the impacts of wildfire smoke on recreation behavior. We find that, on average, more than 120, 000 campground visitor-days per year are close to an actively burning fire and nearly 400, 000 are impacted by adverse smoke conditions, defined as the presence of smoke combined with high ground-level air quality monitor readings. In some regions more than ten percent of camper-days occur when air quality is poor due to wildfire smoke. Combining the results with monthly national park visitation data at the 30 parks in our sample, we estimate that fire and smoke affect 400, 000 and 1 million visitor-days per year, respectively. Using fixed effects panel regressions at the campground level, we estimate declines in campground use in response to fire and smoke. The magnitude of the smoke effect is small, however, suggesting that smoke fails to deter most visitors to public lands. Back-of-the envelope welfare calculations suggest that most of the smoke-related welfare losses that campers experience are due to health impacts from trips taken rather than lost utility from cancelled trips.Click "Download" above to read the full paper. |
| Date: | 2021–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-21-22&r=hea |
| By: | Janjala Chirakijja (Monash University); Seema Jayachandran (Princeton University and NBER); Pinchuan Ong (National University of Singapore Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how the price of home heating affects mortality in the US. Exposure to cold is one reason that mortality peaks in winter, and a higher heating price increases exposure to cold by reducing heating use. Our empirical approach combines spatial variation in the energy source used for home heating and temporal variation in the national prices of natural gas and electricity. We find that a lower heating price reduces winter mortality, driven mostly by cardiovascular and respiratory causes. Our estimates imply that the 42% drop in the natural gas price in the late 2000s, mostly driven by the shale gas boom, averted 12, 500 deaths per year in the US. The effect appears to be especially large in high-poverty communities. |
| Keywords: | Mortality, Home Heating, Heating Prices |
| JEL: | I30 I31 I39 Q41 |
| Date: | 2023–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:cepsud:305&r=hea |
| By: | Risto Conte Keivabu (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Marco Cozzani; Joshua Wilde (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we combine administrative data for continental Spain from 2010 to 2018 with meteorological data to identify the effect of temperature on fertility. We demonstrate that warm (25-30°C) and hot days (>30°C) decrease total fertility rate (TFR) in Spain, and that the estimated decrease is higher than the effects estimated in previous literature for other countries. Moreover, we show that locations with a colder climate are more vulnerable to the impact of heat. Our results suggest that the global impact of climate change on population dynamics may be understated, especially without adaptation and mitigation measures, and that temperature increases may exacerbate the socio-economic consequences of low fertility such as population ageing. |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2023-021&r=hea |
| By: | Abrahamsson, Sara (Norwegian Institute of Public Health); Bütikofer, Aline (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration); Karbownik , Krzysztof (Emory University) |
| Abstract: | Using spatial and temporal variation in openings of fast food restaurants in Norway between 1980 and 2007, we study the effects of changes in the supply of high caloric nutrition on the health and cognitive ability of young adult males. Our results indicate that exposure to these establishments during childhood and adolescence increases BMI and has negative effects on cognition. Heterogeneity analysis does not reveal meaningful differences in the effects across groups, including for those with adverse prenatal health or high paternal BMI, an exception being that cognition is only affected by exposure at ages 0–12 and this effect is mediated by paternal education. |
| Keywords: | Fast food restaurants; food supply; BMI; obesity; cognitive ability |
| JEL: | I12 I20 J13 L66 |
| Date: | 2023–05–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2023_007&r=hea |
| By: | Brigid Cotter |
| Abstract: | Although work-family scholars generally agree that maternal and parental leave policies affect women’s labor force outcomes, the direction and extent of this effect is highly contentious. Complicating the debate, parental leave policies are measured in a variety of ways in cross-national research, making it difficult to compare findings across studies. There is little assessment of how measurement affects outcomes or of alternate ways to measure these leave schemes. Using data from the Luxembourg Income Study (~2013) and an original collection of parental leave measures from 26 countries, this paper analyzes how different measurement strategies affect women’s employment rates by examining combinations of paid and unpaid maternal and parental leave, wage replacement rates, job protection, and eligibility requirements. The results suggest that competing findings in previous work may be explained by scholars’ focus on different pieces of maternal and parental leave policy, shedding new light on the importance of using comparable indicators. I argue for the use of reliable ways to measure policy, such as the importance of including wage replacement rates in future models for more consistent, complete perspectives of policy effect. |
| Date: | 2023–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lis:liswps:855&r=hea |
| By: | Steffen Künn; Juan Palacios |
| Abstract: | What is the impact of housing upgrades on occupant health? Although economists and policymakers are certain about the health implications of housing upgrades, empirical evidence is largely missing or else only based on small-scale experiments in developing countries. This study provides the first population-representative quasi-experimental estimates based on a large-scale refurbishment program that renovated half of the East German housing portfolio in the aftermath of German reunification. During the 1990s, the German government devoted significant financial resources to upgrading the insulation and heating systems of over 3.6 million dwellings in East Germany. We link the renovations to individual demand for the healthcare of occupants using the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) as well as administrative records of universal hospital admissions in Germany. Exploiting the staggered roll-out of the renovation program, our results show that an improvement in housing quality enhances the health of vulnerable age groups. Evidence from hospital records suggests that reductions in hospitalization were due to a lower risk of cardiovascular problems for older individuals (45 years or older) which were mainly driven by days with extremely hot and cold ambient temperatures. Our findings have strong policy implications and can enrich the cost-benefit analysis of public investments in weatherization programs. |
| Keywords: | Housing quality, renovation program, health |
| JEL: | H54 I38 R21 R23 R38 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1186&r=hea |
| By: | Mari, Gabriele |
| Abstract: | Families with two or more children often receive extra income support from the tax-benefit system to contrast poverty risks and help with the costs of raising children. Starting in the 1990s, however, cutbacks have been implemented across European countries. The long-run consequences for children’s human capital might have been substantial, unequal across households, and depended on how families adjusted to less generous support. I examine a Dutch reform that curtailed child-benefit payments for families with second or higher-order children born from 1 January 1995 onwards. The reform imparted a small yearly cutback, but large benefit income losses accumulated until children reached age 18. Based on high-quality administrative data and a regression discontinuity design, I find little evidence of average reform effects on children’s long-run educational and health outcomes. However, children in less well-off households appear less likely to enrol in the academic track of secondary school and more likely to graduate from college as opposed to university. Rather than compensatory labour supply responses or a decrease in total fertility, I find larger earnings losses for mothers affected by the reform and no evidence of changes in the number of children. Survey evidence suggests that cohorts exposed to the reform were more likely to experience income poverty and invested less in child-related goods, including daycare, both in absolute terms and using money from child benefits. |
| Date: | 2023–04–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:e3n82&r=hea |
| By: | Mohajan, Devajit; Mohajan, Haradhan |
| Abstract: | The minimal amount of body fat is necessary for normal physiological functions that manages body temperature, creates energy to perform all the physical activities, and protects the organs of human body. Storage body fat consists of fat accumulation in adipose tissue. Total body fat in human body is the sum of essential fat and storage fat. At present body fat percentage is considered as one of the most accurate obesity evaluation tools. To determine body fat accurately the clinicians should use the most appropriate, accurate, and accessible strategies available in the scientific research area. Accurate measurement of body fat and lean body is essential for the nutrition assessment, and an individual’s overall health and well-being. In this study some measurement processes are discussed to determine body fat percentage (BFP) properly of a person by the analysis of two compartment model: fat mass and fat free mass. |
| Keywords: | Body fat percentage, body mass, fat mass, obesity |
| JEL: | C3 C30 D6 I1 I12 I15 I18 I31 |
| Date: | 2023–02–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117158&r=hea |
| By: | Benjamin W. Cowan; Todd R. Jones; Jeffrey M. Swigert |
| Abstract: | We demonstrate how mothers, fathers, and 15–17-year-old students alter their schedules around the K-12 academic year. Using regression discontinuity (RDD) methods, combined with dates on school year start and end dates by locality, we document several notable results. First, mothers are substantially more affected by the school year than are fathers. When school is in session, mothers sleep less, spend more time caring for family members and driving them around, and spend less time on eating, free time and exercise. Fathers see changes that are generally similar in sign but smaller in magnitude compared to mothers. 15–17-year-olds naturally reduce time spent in educational pursuits when school is out (a decrease of about 5.5 hours per day on weekdays), and most of that time is substituted toward free time (an additional 2+ hours per day) and sleep (1+ hours per day). Our results provide a holistic picture of how families build their days around the K-12 school calendar and have implications for policies targeted toward women’s and teenage children’s health and well-being. |
| JEL: | I12 I21 I31 J16 |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31177&r=hea |
| By: | Daniel S. Hamermesh; Lea-Rachel Kosnik |
| Abstract: | Using data describing all “Top 5” economics journal publications from 1969-2018, we examine what determines which authors produce less as they age and which retire earlier. Sub-field has no impact on the rate of production, but interacts with it to alter retirement probabilities. A positive, tentative, and contemporary writing style increases persistence in publishing. Authors whose previous work was more heavily cited produce slightly more. Those better-cited with more top-flight publications retire later than others. Declining publication with age arises mostly from habit—there is a very significant increasing positive autocorrelation of publication across the decades of a career. |
| JEL: | A14 J26 |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31175&r=hea |
| By: | Andersson, Henrik; Ouvrard, Benjamin |
| Abstract: | Using a discrete choice experiment this study examines whether different types of priming may influence the respondents’ answers when choosing between different policies aimed at reducing the mortality risk due to ambient air pollution. We focus on two types of priming: (i) two versions of an oath where respondents commit to answer truthfully during the survey, and (ii) a priming scenario that combines information about the social cost of ambient air pollution and questions on the respondents’ experiences related to the topic. To test the robustness of the findings the same survey is implemented in two different countries, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). Results show that respondents behave as expected in the choice situations and the two estimates of the value of statistical life (VSL) obtained are in line with values recommended for policy purposes in both countries. Regarding the priming treatments, we find that the oath treatments have different effects in the US and in the UK, and that the priming scenario has an effect on those who have already been suffering from air pollution (US), or on those who are willing to change and undertake actions to protect the environment (UK). |
| Date: | 2023–05–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:128095&r=hea |
| By: | Chavalarias David (ISC-PIF - Institut des Systèmes Complexes - Paris Ile-de-France - ENS Cachan - École normale supérieure - Cachan - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - X - École polytechnique - Institut Curie [Paris] - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CAMS - Centre d'Analyse et de Mathématique sociales - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Antonio A. Casilli (IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris); Alexandre Delanoë (ISC-PIF - Institut des Systèmes Complexes - Paris Ile-de-France - ENS Cachan - École normale supérieure - Cachan - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - X - École polytechnique - Institut Curie [Paris] - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Melanie Dulong de Rosnay (CIS - Centre Internet et Société - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Beatrice De Gelder (Université de Maastricht); Divina Frau-Meigs (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle); Bertrand Jouve (LISST - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Solidarités, Sociétés, Territoires - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - ENSFEA - École Nationale Supérieure de Formation de l'Enseignement Agricole de Toulouse-Auzeville - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Diminescu Dana (IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris); Nahla Ben Amor (Institut Supérieur de Gestion Tunis, Tunisia); Anna Boros (University of Warsaw, Poland); Michela Brunori (University of Urbino); Maria Jose Brites (Lusófona University [Lisbon]); Guido Caldarelli (University of Ca’ Foscari [Venice, Italy]); Caroline Datchary (LISST - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Solidarités, Sociétés, Territoires - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - ENSFEA - École Nationale Supérieure de Formation de l'Enseignement Agricole de Toulouse-Auzeville - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Luisa Fassi (MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge); Laura Hernandez (LPTM - UMR 8089 - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Modélisation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CY - CY Cergy Paris Université); Andrzej Nowak (UW - University of Warsaw); Rodríguez-Doncel Víctor (UPM - Universidad Politécnica de Madrid); Mel Slater (Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona); Mark Buchanan; Pawel Horodecki (GUT - Gdańsk University of Technology); Sirkku Kotilainen (TUT - Tampere University of Technology [Tampere]); Jean Lassègue (LIAS - IMM - Centre de Linguistique Anthropologique et Sociolinguistique - Institut Marcel Mauss - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Emmanuel Lazega (Sciences Po - Sciences Po); Quentin Lobbé (ISC-PIF - Institut des Systèmes Complexes - Paris Ile-de-France - ENS Cachan - École normale supérieure - Cachan - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - X - École polytechnique - Institut Curie [Paris] - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Paul Lukowicz (German Research Center for AI); Julian Mcdougall (BU - Bournemouth University [Poole]); Darian Meacham (Maastricht University [Maastricht]); Elisa Omodei (CEU - Central European University [Budapest, Hongrie]); Amy Orben (MRC CBU - Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit - CAM - University of Cambridge [UK]); Geoffroy Patriarche (SLU - Saint Louis University); David Pearce (UPM - Universidad Politécnica de Madrid); Maria Gabriella Pediconi (University of Urbino); Savino Romani (University of Urbino); Camille Roth (CMB - Centre Marc Bloch - MEAE - Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères - Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung - M.E.N.E.S.R. - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Jerôme Sackur (LSCP - Laboratoire de sciences cognitives et psycholinguistique - DEC - Département d'Etudes Cognitives - ENS Paris - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Valérie Schafer (Uni.lu - Université du Luxembourg); Silvestri Fabrizio (University of Rome); Aureli Soria-Frisch (Neuroscience BU, Starlab Barcelona); Erika Stael Von Holstein (Re-Imagine Europa); Luca Tummolini (ICST-CNR - Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies - CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche); Mirko Zichichi (UPM - Universidad Politécnica de Madrid); David Chavalarias (CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ISC-PIF - Institut des Systèmes Complexes - Paris Ile-de-France - ENS Cachan - École normale supérieure - Cachan - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - X - École polytechnique - Institut Curie [Paris] - SU - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CAMS - Centre d'Analyse et de Mathématique sociales - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | In the 2020s, an American citizen will spend an average of 6h35 a day on social media, compared to 3h35 for television. As for social networks, which were non-existent less than 20 years ago, about 40\% of US citizens use them at least once a week as source of news and they now have an estimated 60-70% penetration rate worldwide. This means that in less than a generation, digital media have radically transformed the way we inform and socialize, and that this transformation is still ongoing as older generations are gradually replaced by digital natives. From a scientific point of view, this transformation generates many phenomena to be studied, and even "unknown unknowns" whose effects will be revealed only with time. This roadmap covers the issues, impacts and future challenges of digital media as they relate to human well-being in the broadest sense, from mental health to the health of democracies. Its objective is to initiate a new interdisciplinary research community in this field, to define a research agenda, to formulate recommendations for future digital media policy and design, and to inspire future EU calls for projects to develop innovative and transdisciplinary research on these societal challenges. The roadmap is the result of the EU-funded project DIGEING conducted by an international consortium with the help of an interdisciplinary advisory group of international experts. Its writing was based on an hybrid methodology developped at CNRS and powered by GarganText, where the advisory group acted both as catalyst and guide for a larger collaborative mapping of the state-of-the-art and identification of challenges of that emerging field. More than forty researchers from fourteen European countries have contributed to the writing of this roadmap. This roadmap is complemented by online interactive maps that can be used by researchers to situate themselves in this evolving scientific landscape and by research funding agencies to launch new calls for projects. |
| Keywords: | Digital media, well-being, online social networking sites, roadmap, socio-semantic networks, mental health, democracy |
| Date: | 2023–05–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:spmain:hal-04091733&r=hea |
| By: | Leah R. Clark; Adam J. Cole; Amanda Eng; Ben S. Meiselman; Nikolas Pharris-Ciurej; Kevin Pierce; John Voorheis |
| Abstract: | Starting in April 2020, the federal government began to distribute Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) in response to the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19. More than 160 million payments were disbursed. We produce statistics concerning the receipt of EIPs by individuals and households across key demographic subgroups. We find that payments went out particularly quickly to households with children and lower-income households, and the rate of receipt was quite high for individuals over age 60, likely due to a coordinated effort to issue payments automatically to Social Security recipients. We disaggregate statistics by race/ethnicity to document whether racial disparities arose in EIP disbursement. Receipt rates were high overall, with limited differences across racial/ethnic subgroups. We provide a set of detailed counts in tables for use by the public. |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:23-24&r=hea |
| By: | Pérez, A.F.; Pedrazas, A.M.; Gaggero, A. |
| Abstract: | We quantify the efect of the non-essential business closure policy in the Spanish region of Andalusia. Exploiting that municipalities were assigned a two-week closure of the non-essential business on the basis of the exact 14-day infection rate (per 100, 000 inhabitants) being above a cut-off value of 1, 000, we use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the causal impact of the policy on new COVID-19 cases and deaths. Using weekly administrative data, our estimates suggest that, on average, the policy reduced new COVID-19 cases and deaths by 63 and 1, respectively. Notably, our heterogeneity analysis highlights that while the policy was extremely effective in urban areas, its effect was not statistically different from zero in rural areas, namely, municipalities with population less than 5, 000. Our results imply that roughly 700 lives have been saved by this policy. Overall, this study provides compelling evidence that shutting down businesses has been an effective tool to counter the COVID-19 pandemics. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19; non-essential business closure; Spain; 14-day infection rate; infection; mortality; regression discontinuity; |
| JEL: | I1 I18 H12 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:23/04&r=hea |
| By: | Sofia Amaral-Garcia (European Commission - Joint Research Center, i3health/Universite libre de Bruxelles); Mattia Nardotto (ECARES - Universite libre de Bruxelles, CEPR and CESifo); Carol Propper (Imperial College London, Monash University, CEPR and IFS); Tommaso Valletti (Imperial College London, CEPR and CESifo) |
| Abstract: | We study the effect of internet diffusion on the uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for children in England between 2000 and 2011. OLS estimates suggest that internet diffusion led to an increase in vaccinations but this result is reversed once we instrument for internet access. We find that the effect of internet diffusion on vaccination rates is sizable: a change of one standard deviation in internet take up determined an approximately 20% decrease in vaccination rate. We also find that areas with a higher proportion of high skilled individuals and lower deprivation levels are those with a higher response to internet diffusion in terms of the reduction in MMR vaccination rates. These findings are consistent with higher skilled and less deprived parents responding faster to false information circulated at the time that the vaccine could lead to autism. Even though this information has been proven to be wrong, these parents were those absorbing it more. |
| Keywords: | MMR vaccines, vaccine hesitancy, broadband internet, misinfromation |
| JEL: | I10 I12 L86 |
| Date: | 2023–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mhe:chemon:2023-04&r=hea |
| By: | Katharine O. Strunk; Bryant G. Hopkins; Tara Kilbride; Scott A. Imberman; Dongming Yu |
| Abstract: | Educators and policymakers have been concerned that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to substantial delays in learning due to disruptions, anxiety, and remote schooling. We study student achievement patterns over the pandemic using a combination of state summative and higher frequency benchmark assessments for middle school students in Michigan. Comparing pre-pandemic to post-pandemic cohorts we find that math and ELA achievement growth dropped by 0.22, and 0.03 standard deviations more than expected, respectively, between 2019 and 2022. These drops were larger for Black, Latino, and economically disadvantaged students, as well as students in districts that were at least partially remote in 2021-22. Benchmark assessment results are consistent with summative assessments and show sharp drops in 2020-21 followed by a partial recovery and potential stall-out in 2021-22. |
| JEL: | I10 I20 |
| Date: | 2023–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31188&r=hea |
| By: | Inga Laß (Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), Wiesbaden, Germany); Esperanza Vera-Toscano (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Mark Wooden (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of the growth in the incidence of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic on workers’ job satisfaction. Using longitudinal data collected in 2019 and 2021 as part of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, fixed-effects models of job satisfaction are estimated. Changes in the share of total weekly work hours usually worked from home are not found to have any significant association with changes in job satisfaction for men. In contrast, a strong significant positive (but non-linear) association is found for women, and this relationship is concentrated on women with children. These findings suggest the main benefit of working from home for workers arises from the improved ability to combine work and family responsibilities, something that matters more to women given they continue to shoulder most of the responsibility for house and care work. |
| Keywords: | working from home, job satisfaction, COVID-19 pandemic, HILDA Survey |
| JEL: | J22 J28 |
| Date: | 2023–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2023n04&r=hea |