Esther Arenas-Arroyo , Daniel Fernandez-Kranz , Natalia Nollenberger
{"title":"High speed internet and the widening gender gap in adolescent mental health: Evidence from Spanish hospital records","authors":"Esther Arenas-Arroyo , Daniel Fernandez-Kranz , Natalia Nollenberger","doi":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.103014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.103014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We exploit variations in fiber optic (FTTH) deployment to assess the impact of high-speed internet access on adolescent mental health. Our findings reveal that FTTH access increases addictive Internet usage and reduces time allocated to sleep, homework, as well as social interactions with family and friends. Access to FTTH increases mental health diagnoses in hospitals and contributes to a notable rise in adolescent suicide rates, particularly among girls. As new platforms and apps gain traction among adolescents, understanding the impact of connectivity improvement becomes important. This is especially relevant given the current FTTH growth replacing older broadband technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50186,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Economics","volume":"102 ","pages":"Article 103014"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144220819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Legal status and voluntary abortions by immigrants","authors":"Luca Pieroni , Melcior Rosselló Roig , Luca Salmasi , Gilberto Turati","doi":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.103001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.103001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We estimate the effect of granting legal status to immigrant women on voluntary abortions. We exploit the 2007 EU enlargement as an exogenous shock to legal status for Romanian and Bulgarian women, considering Italy as a destination country. Using a standard Difference-in-Differences model, we estimate a decline between 60% and 70% in voluntary pregnancy termination (VPT) rates for the new EU citizens from the two Eastern countries. We also introduce a novel framework to separate the total effect of the enlargement into a “citizenship” effect due to (legal or illegal) migrants already present in Italy and a “selection” effect due to new flows of immigrants. We show that the findings are robust to several alternative explanations. The drop in abortions points to legal status as a way to empower immigrant women.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50186,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Economics","volume":"102 ","pages":"Article 103001"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144196459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chad Cotti , Charles Courtemanche , Yang Liang , Johanna Catherine Maclean , Erik Nesson , Joseph J. Sabia
{"title":"The effect of e-cigarette flavor bans on tobacco use","authors":"Chad Cotti , Charles Courtemanche , Yang Liang , Johanna Catherine Maclean , Erik Nesson , Joseph J. Sabia","doi":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.103013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.103013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Advocates for sales restrictions on flavored e-cigarettes argue that flavors appeal to young people and lead them down a path to nicotine addiction. Using data from a variety of surveys (Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, and Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health), this study is among the first to examine the effect of state and local restrictions on the sale of flavored electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products on youth and young adult tobacco use. We find robust evidence that the adoption of an ENDS flavor restriction reduces short-run frequent and everyday ENDS use among youths by approximately two-to-three percentage-points. Some evidence suggests that this effect weakens after two years. We also document reductions in ENDS use among young adults aged 18-30 that appear to strengthen after two years. Finally, evidence suggests substitution from flavored ENDS to unflavored ENDS and cigarettes among certain age groups.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50186,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Economics","volume":"102 ","pages":"Article 103013"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144518963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does knowing the costs of other physicians affect doctors’ referrals?","authors":"Scott Barkowski","doi":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.103002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.103002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Patient referrals from primary care physicians (PCPs) to specialists are common in the American health care industry, but are typically made without any knowledge of relative specialist costs. In this study, I estimate the effect of providing such information to PCPs on referral patterns. Implementing a field experiment with an Independent Practice Association (IPA), I sent a list of average costs for new ophthalmology referrals to randomly chosen primary care medical practices. Using administrative referral data, I find that PCPs increased referral share to less costly ophthalmology practices during the first two months after treatment by 4.6 percentage points for each reduction in costliness rank (e.g., each rank closer to the least expensive). Effects were only found for patients for whom the PCPs had cost reduction incentives, and dissipated over the following four months. For the patients whose referrals were affected, I estimate that the expected cost to the IPA of a referral to ophthalmology fell during the first two months by about $80 (45% of pre-intervention referral cost).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50186,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Economics","volume":"102 ","pages":"Article 103002"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144167263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gerald J. Pruckner, Flora Stiftinger, Katrin Zocher
{"title":"When women take over: Physician gender and health care provision","authors":"Gerald J. Pruckner, Flora Stiftinger, Katrin Zocher","doi":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.103000","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.103000","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The share of female physicians has risen in OECD countries in recent decades, but we know little about the effects of physician gender on patient health care use. We exploit quasi-random assignment of primary care providers (PCPs) to existing PCP practices and patients and estimate the causal effect of female PCPs on health care provision. Using Austrian register data and a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that female PCPs generate 15% less revenue and see 7% fewer patients than male PCPs. Shifting the focus to patient-level outcomes, we observe that health care utilization remains largely unchanged following assignment to a female physician. However, results show that patients are more likely to leave PCP practices with female successors. Our results do not support the idea that the decision to change PCP is driven by preferences against being treated by female physicians. Instead, our analysis suggests that the observed differences are partly explained by female PCPs working fewer hours, especially those facing working time restrictions. As the share of female physicians continues to rise, measures to increase work flexibility may be necessary to maintain broad access to outpatient health care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50186,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Economics","volume":"102 ","pages":"Article 103000"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143946779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julian House , Nicola Lacetera , Mario Macis , Nina Mazar
{"title":"Corrigendum to “Nudging the Nudger: A Field Experiment on the Effect of Performance Feedback to Increase Organ Donor Registrations” [Journal of Health Economics, 97, 102914, 2024]","authors":"Julian House , Nicola Lacetera , Mario Macis , Nina Mazar","doi":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.102990","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.102990","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50186,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Economics","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102990"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143711927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Expression of Concern: \"Estimating the Effects of Tobacco-21 on Youth Tobacco Use and Sales\" [Journal of Health Economics Volume 94, March 2024, 102860].","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2024.102957","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2024.102957","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50186,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Economics","volume":"101 ","pages":"102957"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144086989","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corrigendum to “Immigration enforcement and the institutionalization of elderly Americans” [Journal of Health Economics Volume 94, March 2024, 102859]","authors":"Abdulmohsen Almuhaisen , Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes , Delia Furtado","doi":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.102993","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.102993","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50186,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Economics","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102993"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Corrigendum to “Estimating the effects of tobacco-21 on youth tobacco use and sales” [Journal of Health Economics Volume 94, March 2024, 102860]","authors":"Rahi Abouk , Prabal De , Michael F. Pesko","doi":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.102999","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.102999","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50186,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Economics","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 102999"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Price transparency in healthcare: Bargaining incentives and patient responses","authors":"Yujie Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.102998","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhealeco.2025.102998","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper studies the impact of price transparency on healthcare prices, using a natural experiment involving the gradual disclosure of medical procedure prices on a state-run website. The study finds that negotiated allowed amounts decreased by 5.1% for surgical procedures and 9.1% for radiology procedures, which have higher average allowed amounts and attracted more price requests on the website. In contrast, for lab procedures, the evidence is mixed and does not point to a clear effect. The observed reductions are primarily driven by provider–insurer negotiations rather than patient price shopping. Price reductions were consistent across all providers and insurers, regardless of whether their prices were listed on the transparency website, and extended to providers in neighboring states.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":50186,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Health Economics","volume":"102 ","pages":"Article 102998"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143923014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}