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Unintended Consequences of Early Driving Access: Evidence from Graduated Driver Licensing Policies and Adolescent Health Outcomes

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  • Sharareh Massahi

Abstract

Graduated driver licensing systems effectively reduce adolescent traffic fatalities but create unintended health consequences. Using state-level variation in licensing policies from 1999-2020 and difference-in-differences analysis, we provide the first causal evidence that early driving access generates significant health risks for female adolescents aged 15-19. States allowing learner's permits before age 16 experienced sharp increases in drug-related mortality (+1.331 per 100,000, p

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  • Sharareh Massahi, 2025. "Unintended Consequences of Early Driving Access: Evidence from Graduated Driver Licensing Policies and Adolescent Health Outcomes," Papers 2509.23578, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2509.23578
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anca M. Grecu & Dhaval M. Dave & Henry Saffer, 2019. "Mandatory Access Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs and Prescription Drug Abuse," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(1), pages 181-209, January.
    2. Angélica Meinhofer, 2018. "Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs: The Role of Asymmetric Information on Drug Availability and Abuse," American Journal of Health Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(4), pages 504-526, Fall.
    3. Jason Huh & Julian Reif, 2021. "Teenage Driving, Mortality, and Risky Behaviors," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 523-539, December.
    4. Angélica Meinhofer, 2018. "Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs: The Role of Asymmetric Information on Drug Availability and Abuse," American Journal of Health Economics, MIT Press, vol. 4(4), pages 504-526, Fall.
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