Early effects of COVID-19 pandemic-related state policies on housing market activity in the United States.

I use daily and weekly data from 100 metropolitan areas in 2020 to investigate the effects of state-level policies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic on various indicators of U.S. housing market activity. Measures of housing market activity include change in new listings, total inventory, newly pending sales, median list price, web traffic to for-sale homes, and average number of days to pending sale status. Using event study and difference-in-differences models, I find that the closure of non-essential businesses in certain states was associated with up to an 11-percentage point decrease in new home listings and a 3.5 percentage point decrease in total inventory relative to the same period in 2019. I also find that school closures may affect some outcomes.

Keg Registration Laws, Alcohol Consumption, and Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities Among Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of keg registration laws on alcohol consumption and alcohol-related traffic fatalities in the United States. METHOD: The 1993-2013 data from Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (n = 107,480) and Fatality Analysis Reporting System (n = 12,102) and difference-in-differences type models were used to estimate the effect of keg registration laws on different indicators of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related traffic fatalities among underage youth. RESULTS: Introduction of keg registration laws was associated with a 2.3 percentage point reduction (p < .01) in heavy episodic drinking among minors. The significant effects of these laws were mainly driven by the states with relatively strict keg registration laws. However, these laws did not have a significant impact on alcohol-related traffic fatalities among underage youth. These results were robust under alternative model specifications. CONCLUSIONS: We found that keg registration laws are effective in reducing heavy episodic drinking among underage youth. This result is important given that an increasing number of states have adopted keg registration laws in recent years, yet the empirical evidence of the effectiveness of this policy is quite limited.

Aging out of dependent coverage and the effects on the use of inpatient medical care.

We investigate the impact of losing health insurance coverage at age 26 due to aging out of the Affordable Care Act's dependent coverage on health insurance coverage rates and various indicators of inpatient medical care. We find that the probability of being covered under any type of health insurance plan decreases by 2.5-6.2 percentage points at age 26. However, the effects of this discrete change in health insurance coverage on inpatient medical care and related costs are insignificant.

Health insurance coverage and health care utilization: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act's dependent coverage mandate.

This paper investigates the impact of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) dependent coverage mandate on health insurance coverage rates and health care utilization among young adults. Using data from the Medical Panel Expenditure Survey, I exploit the discontinuity in health insurance coverage rates at age 26, the new dependent coverage age cutoff enforced by the ACA. Under alternative regression discontinuity design models, I find that 2.5 to 5.3 percent of young adults lose their health insurance coverage once they turn 26. This effect is mainly driven by those who lose their private health insurance plan coverage and those who lose their health insurance plan coverage, whose main holder resides outside of the household. I also find that the discrete change in health insurance coverage rates at age 26 is associated with up to a 3.6 percentage point decrease in office-based physician and and up to a 2.1 percentage point decrease in dental visits, but does not have a significant impact on the utilization of outpatient or emergency department services. Furthermore, the effects of the ACA's dependent coverage mandate on health care spending and out-of-pocket costs are insignificant. These results are robust under alternative model specifications.

Did Legalization of Sunday Alcohol Sales Increase Crime in the United States? Evidence From Seven States.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the impact of the legalization of Sunday alcohol sales on several different types of criminal activity in the United States. METHOD: The 2000-2010 data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for seven states (n = 1,746,249) and difference-in-differences type models are used to estimate the effect of the legalization of Sunday alcohol sales on different types of criminal activity. RESULTS: States that legalized Sunday sales of alcohol experienced up to a 16% to 23% increase in the total number of violent and property crimes committed on Sundays (p < .01). However, the aggregate impact of this policy change on crimes committed on all days of the week is not significant because of either positive or statistically insignificant spillover effects of the repeal of Sunday alcohol sales bans on crimes committed on Mondays through Saturdays. These results are robust under alternative model specifications. CONCLUSIONS: We find evidence that the negative effects of legalizing Sunday alcohol sales on criminal activity are day specific, and the overall crime trends are not affected by this policy change. These findings are particularly important given the ongoing public policy debates about the relevancy of the restrictions on Sunday sales of alcohol at off-premise locations.

The impact of the false ID laws on alcohol consumption among young adults: New results from the NLSY97.

In volume 36 of this journal, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, 1997 Cohort (NLSY97), Yörük (2014) finds that the false ID laws with scanner provision (FSP laws) significantly reduce underage drinking. In a recent paper, Zheng (2018) argues that analyses based on the NLSY97 data fail falsification exercises and uses data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) to estimate the effectiveness of the FSP laws. This paper replies to Zheng (2018) and provides new results from the NLSY97, which show that the FSP laws were effective reducing several indicators of alcohol consumption among minors.

Health insurance coverage and self-reported health: new estimates from the NLSY97.

This paper provides new estimates of the relationship between health insurance coverage and health status of young adults using the confidential version of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort (NLSY97). Using a regression discontinuity design, I find that approximately 6 % of young adults lose their health insurance coverage once they turn 19. However, in contrast to the findings from the recent literature, the effect of this discrete change in health insurance coverage on self-reported health status of young adults is quite limited and often statistically insignificant.

Can technology help to reduce underage drinking? Evidence from the false ID laws with scanner provision.

Underage drinkers often use false identification to purchase alcohol or gain access into bars. In recent years, several states have introduced laws that provide incentives to retailers and bar owners who use electronic scanners to ensure that the customer is 21 years or older and uses a valid identification to purchase alcohol. This paper is the first to investigate the effects of these laws using confidential data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort (NLSY97). Using a difference-in-differences methodology, I find that the false ID laws with scanner provision significantly reduce underage drinking, including up to a 0.22 drink decrease in the average number of drinks consumed by underage youth per day. This effect is observed particularly in the short-run and more pronounced for non-college students and those who are relatively younger. These results are also robust under alternative model specifications. The findings of this paper highlight the importance of false ID laws in reducing alcohol consumption among underage youth.

Legalization of Sunday alcohol sales and alcohol consumption in the United States.

AIMS: To investigate the relationship between legalization of Sunday alcohol sales and alcohol consumption in the United States. DESIGN: State-level per capita consumption of beer, wine and spirits was analyzed using difference-in-differences econometric methods. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: Five treatment states that repealed their laws restricting Sunday alcohol sales during 1990-2007 and 12 control states that retained their Sunday alcohol laws during the same period. MEASUREMENTS: Outcome measures are state-level per capita consumption of overall alcohol, beer, wine and spirits. FINDINGS: Among the states that legalized Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Mexico experienced significant increases in overall alcohol consumption (P < 0.05). However, the effect of the legalization of Sunday alcohol sales in Massachusetts and Rhode Island on per capita alcohol consumption was insignificant (P = 0.964 and P = 0.367). CONCLUSIONS: Three out of five states in the United States that repealed their laws restricting Sunday sale of alcoholic beverages during 1990-2007 experienced significant increases in per capita alcohol consumption. This finding implies that increased alcohol availability leads to an increase in alcohol consumption.

The impact of minimum legal drinking age laws on alcohol consumption, smoking, and marijuana use revisited.

In volume 30, issue 4 of this journal, we used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, 1997 cohort (NLSY97) to estimate the impact of the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws on alcohol consumption, smoking, and marijuana use among young adults. In our analysis, we used a restricted sample of young adults and considered only those who have consumed alcohol, smoked cigarettes, or used marijuana at least once since the date of their last interview. In this paper, we revisit our original study using the full sample. We show that our results for alcohol consumption in the full sample are similar to those from the restricted sample. However, the effect of the MLDA on smoking and marijuana use is smaller and often statistically insignificant.

The impact of drinking on psychological well-being: evidence from minimum drinking age laws in the United States.

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between alcohol consumption and psychological well-being among young adults in the United States. We do so by exploiting the discontinuity in alcohol consumption at age 21 and using a regression discontinuity design. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997 Cohort), we document that young adults tend to increase their alcohol consumption and drink on average 1.5 days per month more once they are granted legal access to alcohol at age 21. However, we also show that in general, this discrete jump in alcohol consumption at age 21 has no statistically significant impact on several indicators of psychological well-being among young adults. This result suggests that although stricter alcohol control targeted toward young adults may result in meaningful reductions in alcohol consumption, the immediate spillover effects of such policies on psychological well-being are relatively limited.

The impact of minimum legal drinking age laws on alcohol consumption, smoking, and marijuana use: evidence from a regression discontinuity design using exact date of birth.

This paper uses a regression discontinuity design to estimate the impact of the minimum legal drinking age laws on alcohol consumption, smoking, and marijuana use among young adults. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997 Cohort), we find that granting legal access to alcohol at age 21 leads to an increase in several measures of alcohol consumption, including an up to a 13 percentage point increase in the probability of drinking. Furthermore, this effect is robust under several different parametric and non-parametric models. We also find some evidence that the discrete jump in alcohol consumption at age 21 has negative spillover effects on marijuana use but does not affect the smoking habits of young adults. Our results indicate that although the change in alcohol consumption habits of young adults following their 21st birthday is less severe than previously known, policies that are designed to reduce drinking among young adults may have desirable impacts and can create public health benefits.