Trade Liberalization and Mortality: Evidence from US Counties

Justin Pierce and Peter K. Schott

American Economic Review: Insights, 2020, vol. 2, issue 1, 47-64

Abstract: We investigate the impact of a large and persistent economic shock on "deaths of despair." We find that areas more exposed to a plausibly exogenous change in international trade policy exhibit relative increases in fatal drug overdoses, specifically among whites. We show that these results are not driven by pre-existing trends in mortality rates, that the estimated relationships are robust to controls for state-level legislation pertaining to opioid availability and health care, and that the impact of the policy change on mortality coincides with a deterioration in labor market conditions and uptake of disability insurance.

JEL-codes: F13 F16 I12 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (114)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Trade Liberalization and Mortality: Evidence from U.S. Counties (2016)
Working Paper: Trade Liberalization and Mortality: Evidence from U.S. Counties (2016)
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DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20180396

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