If doctors take the costs of treatment into account when prescribing medication, their objectives differ from their patients’ objectives because the patients are insured. This misalignment of interests hampers communication between patient and doctor. Giving cost incentives to doctors increases welfare if (i) the doctor’s examination technology is sufficiently good or (ii) (marginal) costs of t...

Using data covering over 100 birth-cohorts in 32 countries, we examine the shortand long-term effects of economic conditions on mortality. We find that small, but not large, booms increase contemporary mortality. Yet booms from birth to age 25, particularly those during adolescence, lower adult mortality. A simple model can rationalize these findings if economic conditions differentially affect...

by the Queensland Public Service, and we are grateful to Dave Stott for providing excellent research assistance and Geraint Johnes and Gareth Leeves for commenting on an earlier draft. Bradley also thanks the School of Economics, University of Queensland, for the provision of excellent facilities to allow the completion of this article. JEL classifications: I10, J22, J44 Correspondence: John Ma...

This paper examines impacts of childhood health on SES outcomes observed during adulthood-levels and trajectories of education, family income, household wealth, individual earnings and labor supply. The analysis is conducted using data that collects these SES measures in a panel who were originally children and who are now well into their adult years. Since all siblings are in the panel, one ca...

No previous study has attempted to estimate the e¤ect of intrauterine exposure to armed con‡ict, a potential source of stress, on pregnancy outcomes. Drawing on data from the 2004 Palestinian Demographic and Health Survey, we examine the relationship between fatalities caused by Israeli security forces (a measure of con‡ict intensity) and birth weight. Our estimates suggest that …rst-trimester ...

In 2004, the Federal Trade Commission brought legal action retrospectively challenging the 2000 acquisition of Highland Park Hospital by Evanston Northwestern Healthcare in Evanston, Illinois. A major issue in the case was whether the merger had resulted in improved clinical quality at Highland Park. In this paper, we report the findings of our analysis of that issue. We examined numerous quant...

This paper investigates the impact of demographic shocks on optimal decisions about saving, life insurance, and, most centrally, asset allocation. The analysis indicates that marital-status transitions can have important effects on optimal household decisions, particularly in the cases of widowhood and divorce. Children also play a fundamental role in portfolio choice; in addition to leading to...

We study the effect of unemployment on child maltreatment in the United States for the period 2004-12, at the county level. We use a new administrative dataset containing every report of child abuse and neglect made to the Child Protective Services, and identify the effect using a Bartik instrument. A one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate causes a 20 percent increase in neglect...

Anthropologists have documented substantial and persistent differences in food preferences across social groups. My paper asks whether such food cultures can constrain caloric intake? I first document that inter-state migrants within India consume fewer calories per Rupee of food expenditure compared to their neighbors. Second, I show that migrants bring their origin-state food preferences with...

We analyze the eff ect of job insecurity on psychological health. We extend the group of people being aff ected to employees who have insecure jobs to account for a broader measure of the mental health consequences of potential unemployment. Using panel data with staff reductions in the company as an exogenous source of job insecurity, we fi nd that an increase in fear of unemployment substanti...