The US Opidemic: Prescription Opioids, Labour Market Conditions and Crime

Deiana, Claudio and Giua, Ludovica (2018): The US Opidemic: Prescription Opioids, Labour Market Conditions and Crime.

Abstract

In response to the recent opioid crisis, US states have implemented several policies to reduce the dispensing of opioids and contain drug mortality. We analyse the effectiveness of these laws and their unintended fallouts on labour participation and crime at the local level. Using multiple data sources and a difference-in-difference set-up, we show that the laws targeting the supply for opioids yield larger reductions in prescribed drugs compared to the demand-side policies, particularly in the absence of cross-bordering effects. We observe an improvement in labour market participation and higher crime rates following the enforcement of some of the policies considered.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Prescription Opioids, Drugs, Labour Market, Crime.
• Subjects: E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy > E24 - Employment ; Unemployment ; Wages ; Intergenerational Income Distribution ; Aggregate Human Capital ; Aggregate Labor Productivity; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I18 - Government Policy ; Regulation ; Public Health; K - Law and Economics > K1 - Basic Areas of Law > K14 - Criminal Law

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