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US Employment and Opioids: Is There a Connection?☆

In: Health and Labor Markets

Author

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  • Janet Currie
  • Jonas Jin
  • Molly Schnell

Abstract

This chapter uses quarterly county-level data from 2006 to 2014 to examine the direction of causality in the relationship between per capita opioid prescription rates and employment-to-population ratios. We first estimate models of the effect of per capita opioid prescription rates on employment-to-population ratios, instrumenting opioid prescriptions for younger ages using opioid prescriptions to the elderly. We find that the estimated effect of opioids on employment-to-population ratios is positive but small for women, while there is no relationship for men. We then estimate models of the effect of employment-to-population ratios on opioid prescription rates using a shift-share instrument and find ambiguous results. Overall, our findings suggest that there is no simple causal relationship between economic conditions and the abuse of opioids. Therefore, while improving economic conditions in depressed areas is desirable for many reasons, it is unlikely on its own to curb the opioid epidemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Janet Currie & Jonas Jin & Molly Schnell, 2019. "US Employment and Opioids: Is There a Connection?☆," Research in Labor Economics, in: Health and Labor Markets, volume 47, pages 253-280, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:rleczz:s0147-912120190000047009
    DOI: 10.1108/S0147-912120190000047009
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    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cohle, Zachary & Ortega, Alberto, 2023. "The effect of the opioid crisis on patenting," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 493-521.
    2. 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.).
    3. Pinghui Wu, 2022. "Wage Inequality and the Rise in Labor Force Exit: The Case of US Prime-Age Men," Working Papers 22-16, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    4. Piriu, Andreea Alexandra, 2021. "Trade Shocks, Job Insecurity and Individual Health," GLO Discussion Paper Series 992, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Dionissi Aliprantis & Mark E. Schweitzer, 2018. "Opioids and the Labor Market," Working Papers (Old Series) 1807, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    6. Ilaria Natali & Mathias Dewatripont & Victor Ginsburgh & Michel Goldman & Patrick Legros, 2023. "Prescription opioids and economic hardship in France," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 24(9), pages 1473-1504, December.
    7. Park, Sujeong & Powell, David, 2021. "Is the rise in illicit opioids affecting labor supply and disability claiming rates?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    8. 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.
    9. Aliprantis, Dionissi & Fee, Kyle & Schweitzer, Mark E., 2023. "Opioids and the labor market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    10. Cornelius A. Rietveld & Pankaj C. Patel, 0. "Prescription opioids and new business establishments," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-25.
    11. Janet Currie & Hannes Schwandt, 2020. "The Opioid Epidemic Was Not Primarily Caused by Economic Distress But by Other Factors that Can be More Readily Addressed," Working Papers 2020-25, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    12. Cotti, Chad D. & Gordanier, John M. & Ozturk, Orgul D., 2020. "The relationship of opioid prescriptions and the educational performance of children," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    13. Buckles, Kasey & Evans, William N. & Lieber, Ethan M.J., 2023. "The drug crisis and the living arrangements of children," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    14. Cornelius A. Rietveld & Pankaj C. Patel, 2021. "Prescription opioids and new business establishments," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1175-1199, October.
    15. 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.
    16. Friebel, Rocco & Yoo, Katelyn Jison & Maynou, Laia, 2022. "Opioid abuse and austerity: Evidence on health service use and mortality in England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Opioids; employment; unemployment; mortality; labor force participation; deaths of despair; I12; J01;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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