Can Labor Market Policies Reduce Deaths of Despair?

William Dow, Anna Godøy, Christopher Lowenstein and Michael Reich

Journal of Health Economics, 2020, vol. 74, issue C

Abstract: Do minimum wages and the earned income tax credit (EITC) mitigate rising “deaths of despair?” We leverage state variation in these policies over time to estimate event study and difference-in-differences models of deaths due to drug overdose, suicide, and alcohol-related causes. Our causal models find no significant effects on drug or alcohol-related mortality, but do find significant reductions in non-drug suicides. A 10 percent minimum wage increase reduces non-drug suicides among low-educated adults by 2.7 percent, and the comparable EITC figure is 3.0 percent. Placebo tests and event-study models support our causal research design. Increasing both policies by 10 percent would likely prevent a combined total of more than 700 suicides each year.

Keywords: Mortality; Deaths of despair; Suicide; Minimum wage; Earned income tax credit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:74:y:2020:i:c:s0167629620301119

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102372

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