Research
Research Interests
Health Economics, Applied Microeconomics
(The Southern Economic Journal)
Although people who go through the prison and jail system in the United States have significant health care needs, many leave it with no health insurance and, as a result, they experience gaps in access to care. Exploiting variation in Medicaid eligibility policies for incarcerated individuals across states and using administrative prison release data, we find that suspending rather than terminating Medicaid upon incarceration decreases the probability of returning to prison within one year and three years of release by 1.2 and 3.7 percentage points, respectively. This effect is mostly driven by people returning to prison for property or drug-related offenses, and it is greater for offenders admitted to prison after a state expands its Medicaid program. These estimates are directly relevant to ongoing policy debates on the health care coverage of vulnerable populations.
Avsar, V., Gollu, G., Sevinc N. (2022). Strict Trade Measures, Flexible Financing.
(The Southern Economic Journal)
This study investigates the effect of antidumping policy on the payment methods in trade transactions. Using two-dimensional (country–HS6 product) data on payment methods in imports and detailed data on antidumping activity from Turkey, we show that antidumping duties lead to more exporter-financed transactions for the targeted country-product pairs compared to a control group of non-targeted ones. Our findings suggest that exporters offer better financing options when they face competitive pressure in their export destinations because of discriminatory trade policy.
Working Papers
Gollu, G., Darden, M. (2019). Racial Disparities and Health Reform: Evidence from the Dependent Coverage Provision.
Abstract: This paper studies the effects of the Affordable Care Act’s Dependent Coverage Provision (DCP) on racial disparities in the labor market. Using Current Population Survey data, we find a negative overall effect of the DCP on the extensive margin of labor supply. More importantly, this effect is completely driven by an increase in unemployment among African-Americans. We don’t find any differential effect on labor force participation, job mobility, health insurance coverage, or schooling. Our results provide evidence that the DCP increased the difficulty of finding a job disproportionately for African-Americans.
Gollu, G., Darden, M., & Yu, L. (2019). Effect of Metformin Use on Complementary Health Behaviors Among Diabetes Patients.
The introduction of Metformin is one of the major changes in treating chronic health conditions, and it created a significant change in Diabetes treatment. Historically, the main treatment for diabetes patients is health behavioral changes including exercise, diet, reducing stress. The clinical guidelines published by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) suggests “oral glucose-lowering agents” like Metformin as a first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes since 1997. Since metformin regulates blood sugar and reduces preventive health behaviors’ marginal benefit, a pre-diabetic can substitute metformin for those behaviors. On the other hand, metformin use increases longevity and quality of life, which increases health behaviors’ marginal benefit, and theoretically incentivizes for greater investment in these beneficial habits (Becker 2007). Using Bramingham Heart Study panel data, we investigate the effect of Metformin’s introduction in the U.S. market on the health behaviors of diabetes patients.
Gollu, G., Ahmadi, E., Stathakis, S. (2021). Identifying Cancer Patient Clusters and Optimal Scheduling to Patient Rooms
Patient-centered care requires considering patients' individual needs. Variation in patient needs results in variation in treatment time for cancer patients. Scheduling without considering this variation results in inefficient use of linear accelerator machines, patient rooms, and physician time. We use existing patient-level data to determine the patient clusters and suggest a model that optimally schedules patients to patient rooms to minimize the patient wait time.
Gollu, G., Nal, O. (2020). The Elasticity of Demand: A Classroom Experiment
Students may struggle internalizing concepts of markets with imperfect information as compared to more stylized microeconomic models with complete information. The way imperfect information can lead to market failure provides great learning opportunities for students, where they see firsthand how markets with asymmetric information work differently. On the other hand, it is difficult for instructors to relate asymmetric information concepts to students’ experience since traditional students have limited experience in settings with imperfect information. In this article, we introduce a classroom game that creates a real-life experience opportunity for students and helps them learn concepts of adverse selection and adverse selection death spiral through experience.
Gollu, G., Nal, O. (2020). Risk Aversion Averts Death Spiral in Health Insurance Markets: A Classroom Simulation using Excel.
The way imperfect information can lead to market failure provides great learning opportunities for students, where they see how the price mechanism can fail under a multiperiod setting. In this paper, we modify (Hodgson, 2014) to incorporate risk aversion in a classroom experiment about healthcare insurance markets. We can generate random scenarios using simulations with Excel, we show that risk aversion prevents the insurance markets from a potential collapse. Integrating the classroom experiment with outcomes from simulations enhances the learning experience of students.
Health Reform and the Labor Market: Is Mental Health the Connection? with Michael Darden
Abstract: Research suggests that the A.ffordable Care Act (ACA) dependent coverage provision increased insurance rates, decreased labor supply, and improved mental health for young adults below the age of 26. We study the selective nature of the negative labor supply effects with respect to mental health. Using panel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we show a statistically larger than an average reduction in labor supply following the dependent coverage provision for young adults with long-term (self-assessed) productivity limitations.
Effects of Internet Use for Health Purposes on Patient Distress
Abstract: This chapter uses data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to analyze if internet use for health purposes has an effect on patients’ mental health. Over the last decade, internet use has become universal and provides various health-related tools and information sources. Patients now search online, and read news or comments about their health problems, or connect with other patients through online support groups. Health-related distress can have large impacts on quality of life, and the literature has not addressed the possible impact of internet use on patients’ mental health. I use variation across states’ “right of way” policies during the broadband boom period of 2001-2005. Using rights of way rules’ easiness as a proxy for broadband penetration rates, I investigate if patients’ mental health levels changed differently in states with less strict rights of way rules. I find that internet use improves patients' mental health. I also explore the heterogeneous effect of internet use on mental health and find that internet use is detrimental to the mental health of people with good overall health.
Effects of Early Medicaid Expansions under the Affordable Care Act on Childless Adults Labor Supply
Abstract: Availability of public insurance coverage may incentivize individuals to reduce their labor supply. The ACA extends public insurance coverage to childless adults, yet we know very little about the impact of a public health insurance extension policy on labor supply of childless adults. Using Current Population Survey data, this chapter investigates the labor supply effects of early Medicaid expansions under ACA on childless adults. The ACA extended public insurance coverage to childless adults in 2014, but a number of states opted in early, and extended Medicaid before 2014. My paper utilizes this variation across states to evaluate if the policy change had any effects on childless adults’ employment. I find that the early Medicaid expansions under the ACA had no effect on employment.
Other Publications
”Interaction Between Payment Services and Credit Services in Credit Card Markets”. in Cetin, T. and F. Oguz (eds),
Regulation and Competition in the Turkish Banking and Financial Markets, 2011, Nova Science Publishers, NY, USA
(with G.Gulsun Akin, Ahmet Faruk Aysan, and Levent Yildiran)