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The Opioid Epidemic Was Not Caused by Economic Distress but by Factors That Could Be More Rapidly Addressed

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  • Janet Currie
  • Hannes Schwandt

Abstract

Without the opioid epidemic, American life expectancy would not have declined prior to 2020. The epidemic was sparked by the development and marketing of a new generation of prescription opioids, and the behavior of opioid providers is still helping to drive it. Little relationship exists between the opioid crisis and contemporaneous measures of labor market opportunity: cohorts and areas that experienced poor labor market conditions do show lagged increases in opioid mortality, but the effect is modest relative to the scale of the epidemic. We argue that specific policies and features of the U.S. health care market, especially liberal prescribing of opioids, led to the current crisis. It will not be possible to quickly reverse depressed economic conditions, but it is possible to implement policies that would reduce the number of new opioid addicts and save the lives of many who are already addicted.

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  • Janet Currie & Hannes Schwandt, 2021. "The Opioid Epidemic Was Not Caused by Economic Distress but by Factors That Could Be More Rapidly Addressed," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 695(1), pages 276-291, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:695:y:2021:i:1:p:276-291
    DOI: 10.1177/00027162211033833
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    Cited by:

    1. David Cho & Daniel I. García & Joshua Montes & Alison E. Weingarden, 2021. "Labor Market Effects of the Oxycodone-Heroin Epidemic," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-025, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    2. Angus Deaton, 2022. "The great divide: education, despair, and death," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 57(4), pages 161-168, October.
    3. Simone Balestra & Helge Liebert & Nicole Maestas & Tisamarie B. Sherry, 2021. "Behavioral Responses to Supply-Side Drug Policy During the Opioid Epidemic," NBER Working Papers 29596, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Rosanna Smart & David Powell & Rosalie Liccardo Pacula & Evan D. Peet & Rahi Abouk & Corey S. Davis, 2023. "Investigating the Complexity of Naloxone Distribution: Which Policies Matter for Pharmacies and Potential Recipients," NBER Working Papers 31142, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Boslett, Andrew & Hill, Elaine, 2022. "Mortality during resource booms and busts," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    6. Johanna Catherine Maclean & Justine Mallatt & Christopher J. Ruhm & Kosali Simon, 2022. "The Opioid Crisis, Health, Healthcare, and Crime: A Review of Quasi-Experimental Economic Studies," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 703(1), pages 15-49, September.
    7. Carolina Arteaga Cabrales & Victoria Barone, 2021. "The Opioid Epidemic: Causes and Consequences," Working Papers tecipa-698, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    8. William Encinosa & Didem Bernard & Thomas M. Selden, 2022. "Opioid and non-opioid analgesic prescribing before and after the CDC’s 2016 opioid guideline," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-52, March.
    9. Casey B. Mulligan, 2022. "Lethal Unemployment Bonuses? Substitution and Income Effects on Substance Abuse, 2020-21," NBER Working Papers 29719, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    opioids; life expectancy; prescription opioids; labor markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

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