Opioids and Post-COVID Labor-Force Participation

Francesco Chiocchio, Jeremy Greenwood, Nezih Guner and Karen Kopecky

No 33717, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: At the onset of COVID-19, U.S. labor-force participation dropped by about 3 percentage points and remained below pre-pandemic levels three years later. Recovery varied across states, with slower rebounds in those more affected by the pre-pandemic opioid crisis, as measured by age-adjusted opioid overdose death rates. An event study shows that a one-standard-deviation increase in pre-COVID opioid death rates corresponds to a 0.9 percentage point decline in post-COVID labor participation. The result is not driven by differences in overall health between states. The effect of prior opioid exposure had a more significant impact on individuals without a college degree. The slow recovery in states with more opioid exposure was characterized by an increase in individuals who are not in the labor force due to disability.

JEL-codes: I12 I14 J11 J12 J21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-04
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Working Paper: Opioids and Post-COVID Labor-Force Participation (2025)
Working Paper: Opioids and Post-COVID Labor-Force Participation (2025)
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