Working Papers

«Anti-Bullying Laws and Youth Risky Health Behaviors»
with Joseph Sabia
R&R at Journal of Population Economics
CHEPS Working Paper No. 2020801

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has urged a coordinated “public health approach” to combatting bullying in schools, in part due to concerns that bullying victimization causes teens to turn to risky health behaviors as a coping mechanism. This study provides new evidence on the effect of anti-bullying laws (ABLs) on youth risky health behaviors. Using data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and a generalized difference- in-differences approach, we find little evidence that ABL adoption leads to statistically significant or economically meaningful reductions in binge drinking, tobacco use, marijuana use, risky sex, or body weight for the average teenager. However, for some historically marginalized youth — particularly those who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or questioning (LGBQ) — we find some evidence of ABL-induced improvements in behavioral health, especially with respect to heavier drinking.

«Does Physician Conscience-Based Refusal to Perform Abortions Increase Self-Induced Abortion? Evidence from Italian Provinces»
CHEPS Working Paper No. 2023402
Under Review

Among European countries, Italy has one of the highest percentages of doctors in public hospitals who deny performing abortions on the basis of conscientious objection. Using (i) newly collected Italian data from 2015 to 2018 on the share of conscientious objectors in each province-year and (ii) individual-level hospital discharge data on likely self-induced abortion, I evaluate the relationship between physicians conscientious objection rates and the probability of hospital discharge after likely self-induced abortions. I fnd that a 10% increase in the share of objecting gynecologists is associated with a 4 to 5% increase in the individual probability of self-inducing an abortion.