Research

with Michel Boudreaux. Published 2023 in PLoS One: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0280588 

We evaluate changes in the probability of initiating a contraceptive method by women with employer sponsored insurance after implementation of Delaware Contraceptive Access Now (DelCAN), a statewide initiative that aimed to increase access to long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). Difference-in-differences estimates using IBM Marketscan insurance claims data suggested that DelCAN was associated with a 0.3 percentage point (11%) increase in the LARC insertion rate in the overall study population and a 0.4 percentage point increase in the percent of births adopting immediate postpartum LARC. Associations between DelCAN and LARC insertion appeared stronger for adolescents compared to older women.  Understanding the effect of a comprehensive statewide program is critical for on-going policy development for states engaged in contraceptive access reform.

Available on SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4147185 

While the correlation between income and health has been well established, the causal relationship is not well understood. This research estimates long-run effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on outcomes for low-income mothers in the United States. Using variation from federal and state expansions over three decades, I examine a range of health and economic outcomes observed up to 15 years after becoming a parent. In general, I find little evidence of long-run broad-based effects of EITC benefits for adults, in contrast to previously documented positive long-run effects for children. I find suggestive evidence of long-run mental health improvements, but estimates are imprecise. I also find some evidence of long-run improvements in physical health and economic outcomes for Black mothers. Despite fade-out of short-run effects of the EITC, improvements in maternal health may still be an important mechanism for how safety net programs create long-lasting benefits for children.

with Michel Boudreaux, Evan Ellicott, Scott Lorch, and Molly Passarella 

Paper: Perinatal Health Care Resources and Wildfire Smoke. Under review.

Pregnant people and infants are vulnerable to wildfire smoke. However, the availability of perinatal resources in communities impacted by smoke is unknown. In this paper, we describe perinatal resources in counties prone to wildfire smoke. Relative smoke risk was defined as the bottom, middle, and top third of the average annual smoke-days distribution, and average annual smoke-days ranged from 3.8 days in low-risk to 15.3 days in high-risk counties. Compared to low-risk counties, high-risk counties had fewer OB-GYNs per 10,000 births and were farther to the nearest maternity hospital. High-risk counties were also farther to the nearest NICU. Associations were not explained by socio-demographics and were observed in the subset of the most rural counties. 

Paper: Prevalence and National Trends in Wildfire Smoke Exposure Among Infants. Under review.

Wildfire smoke presents important risks to infants. However, the extent of exposure to wildfire smoke across the United States during the prenatal period is not well documented. In this paper, we describe the prevalence and trends in prenatal wildfire smoke exposure for infants in the United States born from 2012-2020. We find that median smoke exposure during gestation was 0.4 days for births in 2012-2016 and significantly increased to 3.0 days for the median birth in 2017-2020. 27.3% of births had over 7 days of smoke exposure in 2017-2020, a significant increase from 3.3% of births in 2012-2016. Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native infants and infants living in rural counties faced the greatest increases in smoke exposure. The states with highest exposure risks were located in the Upper Midwest and the Northern Rockies. We conclude that wildfire smoke exposure is widespread across the contiguous United States and is growing over time.

Paper: Consequences of Wildfire Smoke for Infant Health. Work in progress.

Existing estimates suggest that exposure to wildfire smoke in the prenatal period adversely impacts infant health. However, existing estimates are limited to a California and Colorado and smoke events prior to 2015. There are strong reasons to believe that effects might vary over place and time. For example, areas in the Upper Midwest experience large smoke burdens, but the smoke likely differs in composition and altitude compared to smoke in California because the smoke in the Upper Midwest is from more distant fires. Effects in more recent periods might also differ due to the changing nature of fires and changes in the health care system that might mitigate risks from exposure (such as the Affordable Care Act). We examine the impact of prenatal wildfire smoke exposure on pre-term birth and low birth weight, which are indicators of health at birth, for infants born across the entire contiguous United States.

with George Zuo and Cameron Conrad. Work in progress.

The decision of whether to group (or track) students into classrooms by ability level has important consequences for student achievement, college readiness, and labor market outcomes. While research suggests benefits for tracked students, the practice may exacerbate inequality. We study automatic enrollment, or “opt-out”, policies that automatically enroll students in advanced coursework based on prior year test scores. These policies aim to broaden access to advanced coursework, particularly among under-represented groups. In this project, we study the adoption of automatic enrollment in middle school honors math classes in Dallas ISD starting in the 2019-2020 school year. We use regression discontinuity and differences-in-differences methods to study the impact of the policy on test scores, future course-taking patterns, and higher education outcomes for both tracked and untracked students in Texas.

with Daniel Marthey. Work in progress.

Reproductive autonomy, which encompasses the right to make choices about contraception, pregnancy, and childbearing, plays a significant role in shaping educational, economic, and health outcomes for young women. We study the effects of Texas HB2, a law enacted in 2013 that resulted in the closure of a large number of abortion facilities in Texas.  Previous research indicates that this law led to a reduction in abortions by up to 44% for individuals whose travel distance to the nearest clinic increased by more than 200 miles. Our work examines how the closure of abortion clinics resulting from Texas HB2 affects the educational outcomes of young women. We employ a difference-in-differences approach to analyze how abortion access influences academic outcomes, including high school attendance, standardized test scores, college enrollment, and college graduation rates.