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Road to perdition? The effect of illicit drug use on labour market outcomes of prime-age men in Mexico

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  • Antón, José-Ignacio
  • Ponce, Juan
  • Muñoz de Bustillo, Rafael

Abstract

This research addresses the impact of illicit drug use on labour market outcomes of men in Mexico. We leverage statistical information from three waves of a comparable national survey and make use of the Lewbel’s heteroskedasticity-based instrumental variable strategy to deal with the endogeneity of the drug consumption. Our results suggests that drug consumption has fairly negative effects in the Mexican context: it reduces employment, occupational attainment and formality and raises unemployment of local males. These effects seem larger than those estimated for high-income economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Antón, José-Ignacio & Ponce, Juan & Muñoz de Bustillo, Rafael, 2024. "Road to perdition? The effect of illicit drug use on labour market outcomes of prime-age men in Mexico," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:55:y:2024:i:c:s1570677x24000674
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101415
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Drugs; Labour market; Employment; Unemployment; Formality; Mexico;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

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