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Can Economic Policies Reduce Deaths of Despair?

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Listed:
  • William H. Dow
  • Anna Godøy
  • Christopher A. Lowenstein
  • Michael Reich

Abstract

Do minimum wages and the EITC mitigate rising “deaths of despair?” We leverage state variation in these policies over time to estimate event study and difference-in-differences models of deaths due to drug overdose, suicide, and alcohol-related causes. Our causal models find no significant effects on drug or alcohol-related mortality, but do find significant reductions in non-drug suicides. A 10 percent minimum wage increase reduces non-drug suicides among low-educated adults by 2.7 percent; the comparable EITC figure is 3.0 percent. Placebo tests and event-study models support our causal research design. Increasing both policies by 10 percent would likely prevent a combined total of more than 700 suicides each year.

Suggested Citation

  • William H. Dow & Anna Godøy & Christopher A. Lowenstein & Michael Reich, 2019. "Can Economic Policies Reduce Deaths of Despair?," NBER Working Papers 25787, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25787
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    Cited by:

    1. Buszkiewicz, James H. & Hajat, Anjum & Hill, Heather D. & Otten, Jennifer J. & Drewnowski, Adam, 2023. "Racial, ethnic, and gender differences in the association between higher state minimum wages and health and mental well-being in US adults with low educational attainment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    2. Marchingiglio, Riccardo & Poyker, Michael, 2019. "The Employment Effects of Gender-Specific Minimum Wage," Working Papers 290, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    3. Pak, Tae-Young & Choung, Youngjoo, 2020. "Relative deprivation and suicide risk in South Korea," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    4. Fernández Guerrico, Sofía, 2021. "The effects of trade-induced worker displacement on health and mortality in Mexico," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Marco Caliendo & Robert Mahlstedt & Gerard J. van den Berg & Johan Vikström, 2023. "Side effects of labor market policies," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 125(2), pages 339-375, April.
    6. Boslett, Andrew & Hill, Elaine, 2022. "Mortality during resource booms and busts," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    7. Braga, Breno & Blavin, Fredric & Gangopadhyaya, Anuj, 2020. "The long-term effects of childhood exposure to the earned income tax credit on health outcomes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    8. Rath, Abigail A. & Lau, Eric HY. & Schooling, C Mary, 2022. "The impact of the minimum wage on suicide rates in Hong Kong," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    9. Camacho, Christine & Webb, Roger T. & Bower, Peter & Munford, Luke, 2024. "Risk factors for deaths of despair in England: An ecological study of local authority mortality data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).
    10. Yuji Mizushima & Haruko Noguchi, 2021. "Spillover effects of minimum wages on suicide mortality: Evidence from Japan," Working Papers 2105, Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
    11. Anuj Gangopadhyaya & Fredric Blavin & Breno Braga & Jason Gates, 2020. "Credit where it is due: Investigating pathways from earned income tax credit expansion to maternal mental health," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(9), pages 975-991, September.
    12. Braga, Breno & Blavin, Fredric & Gangopadhyaya, Anuj, 2019. "The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Exposure to the Earned Income Tax Credit on Health Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 12417, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Bastian, Jacob E. & Jones, Maggie R., 2021. "Do EITC expansions pay for themselves? Effects on tax revenue and government transfers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    14. McKetta, Sarah & Prins, Seth J. & Hasin, Deborah & Patrick, Megan E. & Keyes, Katherine M., 2022. "Structural sexism and Women's alcohol use in the United States, 1988–2016," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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