Substance-abuse treatment and mortality

Isaac D. Swensen

Journal of Public Economics, 2015, vol. 122, issue C, 13-30

Abstract: Drug-overdose deaths, which have more than doubled over the past decade, represent a growing public-health concern. Though substance-abuse treatment may be effective in reducing drug abuse, evidence for a causal effect of treatment on drug-related mortality is lacking. I analyze the effect of substance-abuse treatment on mortality by exploiting county-level variation in treatment facilities driven by facility openings and closings. The estimates indicate that a 10% increase in facilities lowers a county's drug-induced mortality rate by 2%. The estimated effects persist across individual and county characteristics and further indicate that spillovers of treatment reduce other related causes of death.

Keywords: Drug abuse; Mortality; Substance-abuse treatment; Public health; Health economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (57)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:122:y:2015:i:c:p:13-30

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.12.008

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