RESUMO
To address the opioid crisis, it is crucial to understand its origins. We provide descriptive evidence for the intergenerational persistence of opioid dependence. Our analysis is based on administrative data covering the universe of Austrian births from 1984 to 1990. We consider prescription opioids and a new proxy for addiction to illicit opioids. We find that, if at least one parent is using illicit opioids, the likelihood of the child using increases from 1% to 7%. For prescription opioids, we observe an increase from 3.6% to 6.7%. Both associations are stable and do not change when controlling for environmental variables.
Assuntos
Comportamento Aditivo , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Opioides , Analgésicos Opioides , Áustria/epidemiologia , Criança , Família , Humanos , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Opioides/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Low minimum legal drinking ages (MLDAs), as prevalent in many European countries, are severely understudied. We use rich survey and administrative data to estimate the impact of the Austrian MLDA of 16 on teenage drinking behavior and morbidity. Regression discontinuity estimates show that legal access to alcohol increases the frequency and intensity of drinking, which results in more hospital admissions due to alcohol intoxication. The effects are stronger for boys and teenagers with low socioeconomic background. Evidence suggests that the policy's impact cannot be fully explained by access. Data from an annual large-scale field study show that about 25 percent of retailers sell even hard liquor to underage customers. More generally, perceived access to alcohol is very high and hardly changes at the MLDA. However, teenagers consider binge drinking at weekends to be less harmful after gaining legal access.
Assuntos
Consumo Excessivo de Bebidas Alcoólicas , Consumo de Álcool por Menores , Adolescente , Fatores Etários , Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas , Bebidas Alcoólicas , Consumo Excessivo de Bebidas Alcoólicas/epidemiologia , Humanos , MasculinoRESUMO
Despite the growing incidence of cesarean deliveries (CDs), procedure costs and benefits continue to be controversially discussed. In this study, we identify the effects of CDs on subsequent fertility and maternal labor supply by exploiting the fact that obstetricians are less likely to undertake CDs on weekends and public holidays and have a greater incentive to perform them on Fridays and days preceding public holidays. To do so, we adopt high-quality administrative data from Austria. Women giving birth on different days of the week are pre-treatment observationally identical. Our instrumental variable estimates show that a non-planned CD at parity 0 decreases lifecycle fertility by almost 13.6%. This reduction in fertility translates into a temporary increase in maternal employment.
Assuntos
Cesárea , Fertilidade , Feminino , Humanos , Paridade , Parto , Gravidez , Recursos HumanosRESUMO
Maternity leave policies are designed to safeguard the health of pregnant workers and their unborn children. We evaluate a maternity leave extension in Austria which increased mandatory prenatal leave from 6 to 8 weeks. We exploit that the assignment to the extended leave was determined by a cutoff date. We find no evidence for significant effects of this extension on children's health at birth or long-term health and labor market outcomes. Subsequent maternal health and fertility are also unaffected. We conclude that employment during the 33rd and 34th week of gestation is not harmful for expecting mothers (without major problems in pregnancy) and their unborn children.
Assuntos
Saúde do Lactente , Licença Parental , Adolescente , Adulto , Peso ao Nascer , Bases de Dados Factuais , Emprego , Europa (Continente) , Feminino , Humanos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Gravidez , Resultado da Gravidez , Estados Unidos , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Early intervention is considered the optimal response to developmental disorders in children. We evaluate a nationwide developmental screening program for preschoolers in Austria and the resulting interventions. Identification of treatment effects is determined by a birthday cutoff-based discontinuity in the eligibility for a financial incentive to participate in the screening. Assigned preschoolers are 14.5 percentage points more likely to participate in the program. For participants with high socio-economic status (SES), we find little evidence for interventions and consistently no effect on healthcare costs in the long run. For low SES preschoolers, we find evidence for substantial interventions, but only weak evidence for cost savings in the long run.
Assuntos
Redução de Custos , Deficiências do Desenvolvimento/diagnóstico , Intervenção Educacional Precoce/economia , Áustria , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Definição da Elegibilidade , Custos de Cuidados de Saúde , HumanosRESUMO
Using a matched insurant-general practitioner panel data set, we estimate the effect of a general health-screening program on individuals' health status and health-care cost. To account for selection into treatment, we use regional variation in the intensity of exposure to supply-determined screening recommendations as an instrumental variable. We find that screening participation increases inpatient and outpatient health-care costs up to 2 years after treatment substantially. In the medium run, we find cost savings in the outpatient sector, whereas in the long run, no statistically significant effects of screening on either health-care cost component can be discerned. In sum, screening participation increases health-care cost. Given that we do not find any statistically significant effect of screening participation on insurants' health status (at any point in time), we do not recommend a general health-screening program. However, given that we find some evidence for cost-saving potential for the sub-sample of younger insurants, we suggest more targeted screening programs.
Assuntos
Gastos em Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Nível de Saúde , Programas de Rastreamento/economia , Adulto , Idoso , Análise Custo-Benefício , Feminino , Humanos , Pacientes Internados , Revisão da Utilização de Seguros/estatística & dados numéricos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Modelos Econométricos , Pacientes Ambulatoriais , Medicina EstatalRESUMO
Policies to promote marriage are controversial, and it is unclear whether they are successful. To analyze such policies, one must distinguish between a marriage that is created by a marriage-promoting policy (marginal marriage) and a marriage that would have been formed even in the absence of a state intervention (average marriage). We exploit the suspension of a cash-on-hand marriage subsidy in Austria to examine the differential behavior of marginal and average marriages. The announcement of an impending suspension of this subsidy led to an enormous marriage boom among eligible couples that allows us to locate marginal marriages. Applying a difference-in-differences approach, we show that marginal marriages are surprisingly as stable as average marriages but produce fewer children, children later in marriage, and children who are less healthy at birth.