Research Statement
Working Papers
1. Firms and Worker Health
NBER Link: NBER Working Paper #32011
Joint with Alexander Ahammer and Jonathan Smith
Abstract: We estimate the role of firms in worker health care utilization. Using linked administrative data on Austrian workers from 1998-2018, we exploit mobility between firms to estimate how much a firm contributes to worker-level differences in utilization in a setting with non-employer provided universal health care. We find that firms are responsible for nearly 30 percent of the variation in across-worker health care expenditures. Effects are not driven by changes in geography or industry. We then estimate a measure of relative firm-specific utilization and explore existing correlates to help explain these effects.
2. Effects of Universal and Unconditional Cash Transfers on Child Maltreatment
NBER Link: NBER Working Paper #31733
Revisions requested
Joint with Lindsey Rose Bullinger and Kerri Raissian
Abstract: We estimate the effects of cash transfers on a severe measure of child welfare: maltreatment. To do so, we leverage year-to-year household variation in cash transfers from a universal and unconditional cash transfer, the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD). Using linked individual-level administrative data on PFD payments and child maltreatment referrals, we compare children in otherwise-similar families and find that an additional $1,000 to families in the first few months of a child's life reduces the likelihood that a child is referred to Children's Protective Services by age 3 by 2.0 percentage points, or 10 percent, on average. Effects are driven by declines in neglect and physical abuse. Additionally, we show that larger cash transfers reduce mortality by age 5. We present some evidence that the decline in maltreatment referrals is due to changes in family stability and reductions in risky caregiving.
3. _Accessing the Safety Net: How Medicaid Affects Health and Recidivism
NBER Link: NBER Working Paper #31971
Revisions requested
Joint with David Slusky
Abstract: We estimate the causal impact of access to means-tested public health insurance coverage (Medicaid) on health outcomes and recidivism for those recently released from incarceration. To do so, we leverage a policy change in South Carolina that allowed simplified Medicaid re-enrollment for previously incarcerated individuals. Using linked administrative data on criminal convictions and health insurance claims, we find that reducing barriers in access to Medicaid for vulnerable populations increases enrollment and utilization of health care services. However, we do not find that this increased access to Medicaid reduces 1-year or 3-year recidivism, suggesting that effectiveness of such policies is context dependent.
4. Effects of Expanding Contraceptive Choice: New Evidence from Virginia's Contraceptive Access Initiative
Revisions requested
Joint with Jessica Kiser
Abstract: In 2018, the Virginia Department of Health implemented the Contraceptive Access Initiative (CAI) to increase access to long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). We use encounter-level data on contraceptive choice in participating CAI clinics and county-level natality data from 2014-2021 to estimate relative changes in LARC take-up and childbearing rates before and after the CAI. Difference-in-differences estimates indicate that the CAI reduced birth rates in participating counties by 1.6-3.5 percent, or less than half of the effect size of other similar, state-level programs. We show that this smaller effect is likely due to existing high LARC take-up and contraceptive substitution.
5. Supply-Side Drug Policy, Polydrug Use, and the Economic Effects of Withdrawal Symptoms
IZA Link: Discussion Paper No. 17192
Joint with Alexander Ahammer
Abstract: Despite the fact that 30 percent of opioid overdoses also involve a benzodiazepine, there is little policy guidance on how to curb concurrent misuse and even less evidence on how changes to co-prescribing practices can affect patients' economic trajectories. In 2012, Austria restricted access to flunitrazepam, one of the most potent, and most heavily misused, benzodiazepines. We use linked individual-level data to identify opioid users and estimate the reform's impact on their health and labor market outcomes relative to a randomly selected comparison group of non-opioid users. Estimates indicate a 12.7 percent drop in employment, a 13.1 percent increase in unemployment insurance claims, and a 26.5 percent increase in overall healthcare expenditures. We provide suggestive evidence that these effects are due to incapacitating withdrawal symptoms, rather than substitution to other drugs, including heroin or alcohol.
Publications
Disability Insurance Screening and Worker Outcomes
Journal of Health Economics, 101, 2025. Joint with Alexander Ahammer
IZA Link: Discussion Paper No. 16235
Media Coverage: AEI
Effects of Unemployment Insurance Duration on Mental and Physical Health
Journal of Public Economics, 226, 2023. Joint with Alexander Ahammer
NBER Link: NBER Working Paper #27267
Syringe Exchange Programs and Harm Reduction: New Evidence in the Wake of the Opioid Epidemic
Journal of Public Economics, 215, 2022.
Frequently Asked Questions and explanation of methodology
Database of SEP clinic openings
Running Regressions
NBER Link: NBER Working Paper #26111
Media Coverage: Brookings Institute, Wall Street Journal, Probable Causation, Vice, The Economist
Hungry for Success? SNAP Timing, High-Stakes Exam Performance, and College Attendance
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14(4), 2022. Joint with Timothy Bond, Jillian B. Carr, and Jonathan Smith
NBER Link: NBER Working Paper #28386
Media Coverage: NYTimes
COVID-19 and Crime: Effects of Stay-at-Home Orders on Domestic Violence
American Journal of Health Economics, 7(3), 2021. Joint with Lindsey Rose Bullinger and Jillian B. Carr
NBER Link: NBER Working Paper #27667
Media Coverage: The Conversation
SNAP Schedules and Domestic Violence
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 40(2), 2021. Joint with Jillian B. Carr
Media Coverage: Closer Look Podcast, Chicago Policy Review, Economics Observatory
The Power of the IUD: Effects of Expanding Access to Contraception Through Title X Clinics
Journal of Public Economics, 192, 2020. Joint with Jason M. Lindo and Andrea Kelly
NBER Link: NBER Working Paper #25656
Media Coverage: The Daily Mail, The Denver Post, The Weeds (Vox), PBS, NYTimes, Brookings
The Effects of Physical Education on Student Fitness, Achievement, and Behavior
Economics of Education Review, 72, 2019. Joint with Brittany Street
Media Coverage: The Atlantic, WDEL
SNAP Benefits and Crime: Evidence from Changing Disbursement Schedules
Review of Economics and Statistics, 101(2), 2019. Joint with Jillian B. Carr
Media Coverage: Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Berkshire Eagle, Boston Globe, Oklahoma Policy Institute, Illinois Public Media, Business Insider, Vox, Marginal Revolution, Brookings Institute
Family Planning Funding Cuts and Teen Childbearing
Journal of Health Economics, 55(1), 2017.
Media Coverage: Dallas Morning News, Politico, Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Vice, The Austin Chronicle, The Daily Dot, Romper, Refinery29, Houston Chronicle, America Now, Teen Vogue, Washington Monthly, Patheos, Common Dreams, Self, The Mary Sue, Bustle (1), The Young Turks, The Pump Handle, Dead State, Think Progress, Cleveland.com, Red State Disaster, Rare Houston, National Review, The Nation, Tulsa World, Salon, Metro, RedOrbit, Real Clear Life, Longview News-Journal, Sheila Kennedy, IFLScience, Bustle (2), Houston Public Media, The Battalion, Las Vegas Sun
How Much Can Expanding Access to Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives Reduce Teen Birth Rates?
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 9(3), 2017. Joint with Jason M. Lindo
Media Coverage: NYTimes, Denver Post, Vox, publichealtheconomics.org
The Effects of State-Level Abstinence-Based Sex Education Mandates on Teen Health Outcomes
Health Economics, 26(4), 2017. Joint with Jillian B. Carr