Blue Collar Booms and American Mortality

We exploit the positive labor demand shocks driven by the fracking boom to investigate whether improvements in economic opportunity reduce mortality. Using variation in geological characteristics amenable to fracking within a difference-in-differences design, we find that the boom reduces overall mortality for working-age adults. We find no robust evidence of reductions in external forms of death, such as suicide. Instead, the reductions are concentrated among more medically treatable causes, such as cardiovascular deaths. Finally, we find evidence of increased health insurance coverage following the boom. Our results suggest that increased access to medical care serves as an important mediator in the relationship between labor market conditions and mortality.