Effects of prescription opioids on employment, earnings, marriage, disability and mortality: Evidence from state opioid control policies

Robert Kaestner and Engy Ziedan

Labour Economics, 2023, vol. 82, issue C

Abstract: This article presents estimates of the effects of state prescription opioid control policies on prescription opioid sales, mortality and socioeconomic outcomes of adults. Results indicate that state implementation of a “modern” Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) is associated with decreases in opioid sales of between 5% and 20% and that pill mill laws are associated with a decrease in opioid sales of between 15% and 40%. While these policies were associated with reductions in prescription opioid sales they were not significantly associated with drug- and opioid-related mortality, although estimates consistently indicated that these policies reduced mortality. In the case of socioeconomic outcomes, we found consistent evidence that the adoption of a “modern” PDMP was associated with small, but statistically significant reductions in employment of 1% to 2%; small reductions in earnings that were not statistically significant for full sample, but were significant and larger for a low-educated sample; and similarly small, marginally significant increases in receipt of public assistance, particularly for women; and a significant, but small (1%) decline in the probability of being married among females. In contrast, pill mill laws were associated with marginally significant increases in employment of 1% to 2%, but only among those ages 18 to 25; small, but insignificant increases in earnings of males of between 2% to 4%; and a significant, but small (1%) decline in the probability of being married.

Keywords: Prescription opioids; Mortality; Employment; Earnings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:labeco:v:82:y:2023:i:c:s0927537123000337

DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2023.102358

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