This paper investigates the role of large-outbreaks on the persistence of Covid-19 over time. Using data from 649 European regions in 14 countries, I first show that school-breaks in late February/early March (weeks 8, 9 and 10) led to large regional outbreaks of Covid-19 in the spring with the spread being 60% and up-to over 90% higher compared to regions with earlier breaks. While the impact of these initial large-outbreaks fades away over the summer months it systematically reappears from the fall as regions with school-breaks in weeks 8, 9 and 10 had 30-70% higher spread. This suggests that following a large-outbreak there is a strong element of underlying (latent) regional persistence of Covid-19. The strong degree of persistence highlights the long-term benefits of effective (initial) containment policies as once a large outbreak has occurred, Covid-19 persists. This results emphasizes the need for vaccinations against Covid-19 in regions that have experienced large outbreaks, but are well below herd-immunity, to avoid a new wave of cases from the fall of 2021.
{"title":"Breaks and Breakouts: Explaining the Persistence of COVID-19","authors":"Björn Thor Arnarson","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3775506","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3775506","url":null,"abstract":"This paper investigates the role of large-outbreaks on the persistence of Covid-19 over time. Using data from 649 European regions in 14 countries, I first show that school-breaks in late February/early March (weeks 8, 9 and 10) led to large regional outbreaks of Covid-19 in the spring with the spread being 60% and up-to over 90% higher compared to regions with earlier breaks. While the impact of these initial large-outbreaks fades away over the summer months it systematically reappears from the fall as regions with school-breaks in weeks 8, 9 and 10 had 30-70% higher spread. This suggests that following a large-outbreak there is a strong element of underlying (latent) regional persistence of Covid-19. The strong degree of persistence highlights the long-term benefits of effective (initial) containment policies as once a large outbreak has occurred, Covid-19 persists. This results emphasizes the need for vaccinations against Covid-19 in regions that have experienced large outbreaks, but are well below herd-immunity, to avoid a new wave of cases from the fall of 2021.","PeriodicalId":13563,"journal":{"name":"Insurance & Financing in Health Economics eJournal","volume":"123 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89648350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study examines the reaction of local currency oil prices to the COVID-19 pandemic using Turkish daily data (July 25, 2019 to October 30, 2020). A multivariate adaptive regression splines model is employed that considers foreign exchange (USD-TRY), credit default swap spread, global uncertainty, and global volatility as control variables. The findings show that: (i) the volatility index influences oil prices most regardless of the sample size; and (ii) the COVID-19 pandemic affects the importance of effective variables on the local currency oil prices in Turkey.
{"title":"The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Oil Prices: Evidence From Turkey","authors":"M. Kartal","doi":"10.46557/001C.18723","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46557/001C.18723","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the reaction of local currency oil prices to the COVID-19 pandemic using Turkish daily data (July 25, 2019 to October 30, 2020). A multivariate adaptive regression splines model is employed that considers foreign exchange (USD-TRY), credit default swap spread, global uncertainty, and global volatility as control variables. The findings show that: (i) the volatility index influences oil prices most regardless of the sample size; and (ii) the COVID-19 pandemic affects the importance of effective variables on the local currency oil prices in Turkey.","PeriodicalId":13563,"journal":{"name":"Insurance & Financing in Health Economics eJournal","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85099813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Diet quality can be improved via two factors: healthier product offerings by food manufacturers and healthier purchasing habits of consumers. In this paper, we take a closer look at sodium, a food constituent identified as an important determinant of several acute health problems. In 2009, food manufacturers in the U.S. voluntarily committed to substantial reductions in sodium content through a self-regulatory process known as the National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI). The NSRI set sodium reduction targets for 2012 and 2014, where the targets were based on a sales-weighted average of the sodium content across products. While the existing evidence suggests that the NSRI was partially successful in reducing sodium intake, a limitation of using a sales-weighted measure as a metric is that it conflates two effects: reformulation efforts by food manufacturers (the focal point of the initiative) and changes in consumer purchasing behavior. In this paper, we use UPC-level nutrition data on the near-universe of all packaged food products in the U.S. over 2007-2015 to quantify each effect. We find that the two effects exerted strikingly opposing forces, nearly canceling each other out: while reformulation efforts contribute to a 53% reduction in sodium intake, the changes in consumer shopping behavior increase the intake by 48.3%. Furthermore, our results show that lower income households as well as ethnic and racial minority groups experience the smallest sodium reductions. The results suggest that policy interventions towards reducing the sodium intake should focus on altering consumer behavior, especially in vulnerable populations.
{"title":"Sodium Intake in the U.S.: Evidence From Scanner Data","authors":"C. Rojas, Ezgi Cengiz","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3751512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3751512","url":null,"abstract":"Diet quality can be improved via two factors: healthier product offerings by food manufacturers and healthier purchasing habits of consumers. In this paper, we take a closer look at sodium, a food constituent identified as an important determinant of several acute health problems. In 2009, food manufacturers in the U.S. voluntarily committed to substantial reductions in sodium content through a self-regulatory process known as the National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI). The NSRI set sodium reduction targets for 2012 and 2014, where the targets were based on a sales-weighted average of the sodium content across products. While the existing evidence suggests that the NSRI was partially successful in reducing sodium intake, a limitation of using a sales-weighted measure as a metric is that it conflates two effects: reformulation efforts by food manufacturers (the focal point of the initiative) and changes in consumer purchasing behavior. In this paper, we use UPC-level nutrition data on the near-universe of all packaged food products in the U.S. over 2007-2015 to quantify each effect. We find that the two effects exerted strikingly opposing forces, nearly canceling each other out: while reformulation efforts contribute to a 53% reduction in sodium intake, the changes in consumer shopping behavior increase the intake by 48.3%. Furthermore, our results show that lower income households as well as ethnic and racial minority groups experience the smallest sodium reductions. The results suggest that policy interventions towards reducing the sodium intake should focus on altering consumer behavior, especially in vulnerable populations.","PeriodicalId":13563,"journal":{"name":"Insurance & Financing in Health Economics eJournal","volume":"2012 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86414420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Spanish Abstract: Se compara la evolucion de once indices bursatiles en el periodo 2007- 7 enero 2021 y se comparan los descensos de la “crisis del coronavirus” y los de la crisis de 2007… (financiera en algunos paises, politica-regulatoria-inmobiliaria-financiera en otros…), que en algunos paises puede darse por solucionada y en otros todavia no. El indice menos rentable en 2019-2020 fue el espanol IBEX 35. Tambien se muestra la evolucion del desempleo en 30 paises en el periodo 2000-2020. Los dos paises con mayor desempleo en febrero de 2013 y en 2020 fueron Grecia y Espana. English Abstract: The evolution of eleven stock market indices in the period 2007-7 January 2021 is compared and the declines of the “coronavirus crisis” are compared with those of the 2007 crisis… (financial in some countries, policy-regulatory-real estate-financial in others ...), which in some countries may be considered resolved and in others not yet. The least profitable index in 2019-2020 was the Spanish IBEX 35. The evolution of unemployment in 30 countries in the period 2000-2020 is also shown. The two countries with the highest unemployment in February 2013 and in 2020 were Greece and Spain.
11索引[Abstract:比较evolucion bursatiles 2021在2007年1月- 7和比较万和coronavirus危机”和“2007年...(在一些国家金融危机,politica-regulatoria-inmobiliaria-financiera其他...),在一些国家可能都准备好和其他没有。2019-2020年利润最低的指数是西班牙的IBEX 35。它还显示了30个国家在2000-2020年期间的失业趋势。2013年2月和2020年失业率最高的两个国家是希腊和西班牙。English Abstract: The evolution of 11 stock market条目in The period 2007-7 January 2021 is算不上and The declines of The coronavirus危机”are算不上相对of The 2007年危机... (financial in some countries, policy-regulatory-real estate-financial in其他人...),which in some countries may视为其他人尚未得到解决。= =地理= =根据美国人口普查，该地区的总面积为，其中土地和(1.2%)水。还介绍了2000-2020年期间30个国家失业情况的演变情况。2013年2月和2020年失业率最高的两个国家是希腊和西班牙。
{"title":"Once índices bursátiles 2007- 7 enero 2021 y desempleo en 30 países 2000-2020 (Eleven Stock Market Indices 2007- January 7, 2021 and Unemployment in 30 Countries 2000-2020)","authors":"Pablo Fernández, Sofia Bañuls","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.3765352","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.3765352","url":null,"abstract":"Spanish Abstract: Se compara la evolucion de once indices bursatiles en el periodo 2007- 7 enero 2021 y se comparan los descensos de la “crisis del coronavirus” y los de la crisis de 2007… (financiera en algunos paises, politica-regulatoria-inmobiliaria-financiera en otros…), que en algunos paises puede darse por solucionada y en otros todavia no. \u0000El indice menos rentable en 2019-2020 fue el espanol IBEX 35. \u0000Tambien se muestra la evolucion del desempleo en 30 paises en el periodo 2000-2020. Los dos paises con mayor desempleo en febrero de 2013 y en 2020 fueron Grecia y Espana. \u0000 \u0000English Abstract: The evolution of eleven stock market indices in the period 2007-7 January 2021 is compared and the declines of the “coronavirus crisis” are compared with those of the 2007 crisis… (financial in some countries, policy-regulatory-real estate-financial in others ...), which in some countries may be considered resolved and in others not yet. The least profitable index in 2019-2020 was the Spanish IBEX 35. The evolution of unemployment in 30 countries in the period 2000-2020 is also shown. The two countries with the highest unemployment in February 2013 and in 2020 were Greece and Spain.","PeriodicalId":13563,"journal":{"name":"Insurance & Financing in Health Economics eJournal","volume":"194 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72823507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Discussion of the treatment of medical marijuana companies under §280E of the Internal Revenue Code and under federal banking regulations.
讨论根据《国内税收法》第280E条和联邦银行法规对医用大麻公司的处理。
{"title":"Taxation and Banking Challenges for Medical Marijuana","authors":"Philip MacFarlane","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3837662","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3837662","url":null,"abstract":"Discussion of the treatment of medical marijuana companies under §280E of the Internal Revenue Code and under federal banking regulations.","PeriodicalId":13563,"journal":{"name":"Insurance & Financing in Health Economics eJournal","volume":"93 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73911896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The coronavirus pandemic of 2019-20 confronted fiscally dominant regimes around the world with the question of whether the large deficits caused by the health crisis should be monetized or financed by issuing debt The unpleasant monetarist arithmetic of Sargent and Wallace (1981) states that in a fiscally dominant regime tighter money now can cause higher inflation in the future In spite of the qualifier 'unpleasant,' this result is positive in nature, and, therefore, void of normative content I analyze conditions under which it is optimal in a welfare sense for the central bank to delay inflation by issuing debt to finance part of the fiscal deficit The analysis is conducted in the context of a model in which the aforementioned monetarist arithmetic holds, in the sense that if the government finds it optimal to delay inflation, it does so knowing that it would result in higher inflation in the future The central result of the paper is that delaying inflation is optimal when the fiscal deficit is expected to decline over time [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of East Asian Economic Review (EAER) is the property of Korea Institute for International Economic Policy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )
{"title":"Financing COVID-19 Deficits in Fiscally Dominant Economies: Is The Monetarist Arithmetic Unpleasant?","authors":"Martin Uribe","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3766673","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3766673","url":null,"abstract":"The coronavirus pandemic of 2019-20 confronted fiscally dominant regimes around the world with the question of whether the large deficits caused by the health crisis should be monetized or financed by issuing debt The unpleasant monetarist arithmetic of Sargent and Wallace (1981) states that in a fiscally dominant regime tighter money now can cause higher inflation in the future In spite of the qualifier 'unpleasant,' this result is positive in nature, and, therefore, void of normative content I analyze conditions under which it is optimal in a welfare sense for the central bank to delay inflation by issuing debt to finance part of the fiscal deficit The analysis is conducted in the context of a model in which the aforementioned monetarist arithmetic holds, in the sense that if the government finds it optimal to delay inflation, it does so knowing that it would result in higher inflation in the future The central result of the paper is that delaying inflation is optimal when the fiscal deficit is expected to decline over time [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of East Asian Economic Review (EAER) is the property of Korea Institute for International Economic Policy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )","PeriodicalId":13563,"journal":{"name":"Insurance & Financing in Health Economics eJournal","volume":"61 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73889177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The enterprises needed three months to overcome the April decline in demand, and in July, the estimates reached the pre-crisis level. Then there was a three-month pause, followed by growing demand, according to manufacturers’ estimates. The growth rate of sales increased by 9 p.p. in November after an interruption in August-October.
{"title":"Russian Industrial Sector in November 2020","authors":"S. Tsukhlo","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3749984","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3749984","url":null,"abstract":"The enterprises needed three months to overcome the April decline in demand, and in July, the estimates reached the pre-crisis level. Then there was a three-month pause, followed by growing demand, according to manufacturers’ estimates. The growth rate of sales increased by 9 p.p. in November after an interruption in August-October.","PeriodicalId":13563,"journal":{"name":"Insurance & Financing in Health Economics eJournal","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72899286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks both to protect investors and to promote efficient capital formation, but in the context of cryptoassets these goals sometimes collide. The SEC vigorously reacts to fraudulent offerings of cryptoassets but has had to do so by forcing crypto into an antiquated framework designed with very different interests in mind. Even worse than the convoluted and complex arguments needed to force crypto into the existing category of “investment contracts,” once crypto is treated as a security, a host of onerous and inapt disclosure requirements and regulations follow. Developers, promoters, exchanges, and others who might assist in the sale of such assets are all forced into a regime that was never intended to cover this new class of assets.
This Article therefore suggests changes to the existing regulatory regime to more fairly apportion duties and responsibilities between regulators, issuers, promoters, and purchasers. This Article suggests that the SEC is the appropriate agency to oversee transactions in cryptoassets, but the underlying legislation should be amended to create a new category of securities, with different disclosure requirements and exemptions tailored to the informational needs of potential crypto purchasers. Maintaining the current anti-fraud rules will protect the public while allowing for innovation in this rapidly moving space. It will avoid wasting assets of both regulators and the regulated by eliminating the debate over whether crypto is or is not a security and will avoid duplication of efforts between the SEC and other federal regulators. It will also improve the relevance of available information for potential purchasers. This approach has the dual advantage of facilitating both parts of the SEC’s mission: protection of investors while supporting innovative capital formation for legitimate crypto enterprises.
{"title":"Cinderella's Slipper: A Better Approach to Regulating Cryptoassets as Securities","authors":"Carol R. Goforth","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3744254","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3744254","url":null,"abstract":"The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks both to protect investors and to promote efficient capital formation, but in the context of cryptoassets these goals sometimes collide. The SEC vigorously reacts to fraudulent offerings of cryptoassets but has had to do so by forcing crypto into an antiquated framework designed with very different interests in mind. Even worse than the convoluted and complex arguments needed to force crypto into the existing category of “investment contracts,” once crypto is treated as a security, a host of onerous and inapt disclosure requirements and regulations follow. Developers, promoters, exchanges, and others who might assist in the sale of such assets are all forced into a regime that was never intended to cover this new class of assets. <br><br>This Article therefore suggests changes to the existing regulatory regime to more fairly apportion duties and responsibilities between regulators, issuers, promoters, and purchasers. This Article suggests that the SEC is the appropriate agency to oversee transactions in cryptoassets, but the underlying legislation should be amended to create a new category of securities, with different disclosure requirements and exemptions tailored to the informational needs of potential crypto purchasers. Maintaining the current anti-fraud rules will protect the public while allowing for innovation in this rapidly moving space. It will avoid wasting assets of both regulators and the regulated by eliminating the debate over whether crypto is or is not a security and will avoid duplication of efforts between the SEC and other federal regulators. It will also improve the relevance of available information for potential purchasers. This approach has the dual advantage of facilitating both parts of the SEC’s mission: protection of investors while supporting innovative capital formation for legitimate crypto enterprises.","PeriodicalId":13563,"journal":{"name":"Insurance & Financing in Health Economics eJournal","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90085482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We study how short-term labor markets responded to an extraordinary demand shock during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use traveling nurse jobs - a market hospitals use to fill temporary staffing needs - to examine workers' willingness to move to places with larger demand shocks. We find a dramatic increase in market size during the pandemic, especially for those specialties central to COVID-19 care. The number of jobs increased far more than compensation, suggesting that labor supply to this fringe of the nursing market is quite elastic. To examine workers' willingness to move across different locations, we examine jobs in different locations on the same day, and find an even more elastic supply response. We show that part of this supply responsiveness comes from workers' willingness to travel longer distances for jobs when payment increases, suggesting that an integrated national market facilitates reallocating workers when demand surges. This implies that a simultaneous national demand spike might be harder for the market to accommodate rapidly.
{"title":"When Workers Travel: Nursing Supply During Covid-19 Surges","authors":"J. Gottlieb, Avi Zenilman","doi":"10.3386/w28240","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3386/w28240","url":null,"abstract":"We study how short-term labor markets responded to an extraordinary demand shock during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use traveling nurse jobs - a market hospitals use to fill temporary staffing needs - to examine workers' willingness to move to places with larger demand shocks. We find a dramatic increase in market size during the pandemic, especially for those specialties central to COVID-19 care. The number of jobs increased far more than compensation, suggesting that labor supply to this fringe of the nursing market is quite elastic. To examine workers' willingness to move across different locations, we examine jobs in different locations on the same day, and find an even more elastic supply response. We show that part of this supply responsiveness comes from workers' willingness to travel longer distances for jobs when payment increases, suggesting that an integrated national market facilitates reallocating workers when demand surges. This implies that a simultaneous national demand spike might be harder for the market to accommodate rapidly.","PeriodicalId":13563,"journal":{"name":"Insurance & Financing in Health Economics eJournal","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87351853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
I explore patterns of non-healthcare consumption in targeted U.S. households due to public health insurance expansions. Specifically, I investigate the effects of the recent Medicaid expansions on eligible low-income households’ recurring food and other preventative non-healthcare consumption expenditures. I use a consumer panel data that deploys at-home scanner technology to track grocery purchases. Using an event-study design, and a triple difference-in-differences framework, I find that the Medicaid eligible households from expansion states spent less on fresh produce per adult and more on health and beauty products after the Medicaid expansion. Almost all the increase in the health and beauty product expenditure is due to an increase in expenditure on over-the-counter medications and remedies, which are more responsive and palliative than preventative in nature. The robust reduction in fresh produce expenditures and increase in expenditures on over-the-counter medications and remedies suggests that while expanded public health insurance increases formal healthcare activity and it decreases informal preventative non-healthcare expenditures. These new patterns of non-healthcare consumption may occur because of improved finances due to subsidized healthcare, changes in relative costs of healthcare and non-healthcare consumption, or the substitution between healthcare and preventative non-healthcare consumption. These findings may begin to shift the focus in the literature on the unintended consequences of Medicaid expansion from sins of commission, i.e., moral hazard responses such as increased smoking, alcohol use and junk food consumption, to sins of omission, i.e., responses in which preventative health habits erode.
{"title":"Effects of Public Health Insurance Expansions on the Non-Healthcare Consumption Expenditures of Low-Income Households","authors":"T. Panchalingam","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3740775","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3740775","url":null,"abstract":"I explore patterns of non-healthcare consumption in targeted U.S. households due to public health insurance expansions. Specifically, I investigate the effects of the recent Medicaid expansions on eligible low-income households’ recurring food and other preventative non-healthcare consumption expenditures. I use a consumer panel data that deploys at-home scanner technology to track grocery purchases. Using an event-study design, and a triple difference-in-differences framework, I find that the Medicaid eligible households from expansion states spent less on fresh produce per adult and more on health and beauty products after the Medicaid expansion. Almost all the increase in the health and beauty product expenditure is due to an increase in expenditure on over-the-counter medications and remedies, which are more responsive and palliative than preventative in nature. The robust reduction in fresh produce expenditures and increase in expenditures on over-the-counter medications and remedies suggests that while expanded public health insurance increases formal healthcare activity and it decreases informal preventative non-healthcare expenditures. These new patterns of non-healthcare consumption may occur because of improved finances due to subsidized healthcare, changes in relative costs of healthcare and non-healthcare consumption, or the substitution between healthcare and preventative non-healthcare consumption. These findings may begin to shift the focus in the literature on the unintended consequences of Medicaid expansion from sins of commission, i.e., moral hazard responses such as increased smoking, alcohol use and junk food consumption, to sins of omission, i.e., responses in which preventative health habits erode.","PeriodicalId":13563,"journal":{"name":"Insurance & Financing in Health Economics eJournal","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86498612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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