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Economic downturns and substance abuse treatment: Evidence from admissions data

Author

Listed:
  • Johanna Catherine Maclean

    (Department of Economics, Temple University)

  • Jonathan H. Cantor

    (Wagner School of Public Service, New York University)

  • Rosalie Liccardo Pacula

    (RAND Drug Policy Research Center, RAND Corporation)

Abstract
This study investigates how admission rates to specialty substance abuse treatment facilities vary across the business cycle using administrative data from the Treatment Episodes Data Set between 1992 and 2010. We find that admission rates decrease in economic downturns. Our preferred specification, which controls for a rich set of demand and supply side factors, suggests that a 1 percentage point increase in the lagged state unemployment rate leads to a 2.5% reduction in total admissions, and a 3.0% and 2.3% decrease in alcohol- and illicit drug-related admissions, respectively. We conduct supplementary analyses to explore potential mechanisms for the net effects we estimate in our reduced form models. Our findings offer new evidence on the relationship between economic downturns and behavioral healthcare utilization.

Suggested Citation

  • Johanna Catherine Maclean & Jonathan H. Cantor & Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, 2015. "Economic downturns and substance abuse treatment: Evidence from admissions data," DETU Working Papers 1504, Department of Economics, Temple University.
    • Handle: RePEc:tem:wpaper:1504
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    File URL: http://www.cla.temple.edu/RePEc/documents/DETU_15_04.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2015
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Hollingsworth, Alex & Ruhm, Christopher J. & Simon, Kosali, 2017. "Macroeconomic conditions and opioid abuse," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 222-233.
    2. Carpenter, Christopher S. & McClellan, Chandler B. & Rees, Daniel I., 2017. "Economic conditions, illicit drug use, and substance use disorders in the United States," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 63-73.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    alcohol; illicit drugs; admissions; health; economic downturns;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor

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