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The effects of occupational licensing reform for nurse practitioners on children's health

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  • Moiz Bhai
  • David T. Mitchell

Abstract

We examine how scope of practice reforms that allow nurse practitioners independent practice authority impact children's health. We exploit spatial and temporal variation in independent practice authority to implement a difference‐in‐differences research design using data from the first three waves of the National Survey of Children's Health. We find that these reforms have significant positive impacts on a commonly used and validated measure of children's health: parental evaluation of child health. As a result of this scope of practice reforms, parental evaluations of overall child health improve as parents increasingly rate their child as having Excellent Health. More importantly, we observe these improvements in health are driven primarily by older children and children from lower family income backgrounds. These findings indicate that an expansion in the supply of healthcare through occupational licensing reform can positively influence health outcomes for children. Such findings have important implications for mitigating child health inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Moiz Bhai & David T. Mitchell, 2024. "The effects of occupational licensing reform for nurse practitioners on children's health," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 91(1), pages 62-91, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:91:y:2024:i:1:p:62-91
    DOI: 10.1002/soej.12592
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Owen Fleming & Lilly Springer, 2025. "The Spillover Effects of Nurse Practitioner Scope of Practice Expansions on Safety Net Program Participation: Evidence from WIC," WORKING PAPERS SERIES IN THEORETICAL AND APPLIED ECONOMICS 202506, University of Kansas, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2025.

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