Research

"Pharmaceutical Drug Regulation and Mortality: The Peculiar Case of E-cigarettes" (with Michael Pesko)

This study evaluates drug regulation in the United States by examining the specific case of e-cigarettes, which were unexpectedly judicially exempted from drug regulation in 2010. Our analysis shows that this exemption led to significant increases in e-cigarette innovation, as evidenced by patent applications. Leveraging differences in smoking rates across demographic groups prior to e-cigarette introduction, we find that from 2011 to 2019, e-cigarettes saved 677,000 life--years, or approximately 1/3 the benefit of early HIV drugs. We demonstrate that reduced smoking is a key mechanism explaining this mortality reduction, with statistically significant smoking reductions proceeding mortality reductions by approximately 4 years. Our calculations indicate that e-cigarettes increased social surplus by $8 billion annually. The 1984 introduction of drug regulation-approved nicotine replacement therapy, meanwhile, had no measurable impact.

"Ridesharing and External-Cause Mortality" (with Keith Teltser and Conor Lennon) Under Review

Existing research suggests ridesharing affects transportation access, substance use, and exposure to crime. Ridesharing may therefore also have meaningful effects on mortality related to these underlying factors. To address this question, we use restricted-access data from the National Vital Statistics System to study how UberX, Uber's taxi-like service, affects mortality from external causes. Our identification strategy relies on spatial and temporal variation in UberX entry across U.S. counties. Among those aged 18 to 45, we find that UberX entry into an area is associated with 2.01 additional deaths per quarter per 100,000 population (roughly a 10% increase). We find that these deaths are primarily related to alcohol and drug use. We support a causal interpretation for our findings by presenting event studies, placebo analyses, sensitivity and heterogeneity analyses, and a variety of robustness checks, including differences-in-differences estimators that are robust to heterogeneous treatment effects. Our work contributes to the literature by addressing both the benefits and costs of ridesharing, and by informing stakeholders who are interested in the cumulative impact of ridesharing on public health and well-being.