 Links between COVID-19 lockdowns and drug overdose deaths, evidence from panel dataYimin Wang Economics & Human Biology, 2025, vol. 58, issue C Abstract: This paper studies the impacts of divergent state government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic on drug overdose deaths. Using Difference-in-Differences method, I exploit the cross-state variation in the timing of lockdown policies to examine how COVID-19 lockdowns affected drug overdose deaths. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that comprehensively examines the causal links between COVID-19 lockdowns and drug overdose deaths in the US. By emphasizing the impacts of lockdown “mandates” vs. “recommendations,” I find credible evidence supporting that the implementation of lockdown mandates led to more drug overdose deaths. My baseline estimates indicate a 15% to 20% increase in drug overdose deaths. To make my results generalizable, I examine three potential mechanisms, including labor market outcomes, mental health, and isolation. I find that isolation induced by the COVID-19 lockdown mandates likely contributes to the increase in drug overdose deaths, while there is only weak evidence that labor market outcomes and mental health serve as plausible channels. Keywords: Opioid; COVID-19; Overdose; Substance abuse; Mortality (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:58:y:2025:i:c:s1570677x25000437 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2025.101510 Access Statistics for this article Economics & Human Biology is currently edited by J. Komlos, Inas R Kelly and Joerg Baten More articles in Economics & Human Biology from Elsevier |
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