A Tribute to Janet Currie's Pioneering Work

Intergenerational Effects of Opioid Exposure and Child Health, Human Capital, and Well-being Using Linked Microdata

Presenter:

Jonathan Zhang

Duke University

Abstract:

Over the past few decades, the opioid crisis has been a leading public health and economic emergency in Canada and the United States. Little is known about the causal impacts of opioid exposure on the outcomes of children. We analyze administrative data from British Columbia linking children to parents, and across domains of health, education, child protection, and income assistance beginning in 1991. Using a within-mother, across-siblings design, we study the impacts of both prenatal in utero opioid exposure and postnatal opioid exposure on outcomes of siblings. Prenatal opioid exposure and postnatal maternal opioid abuse has significant and lasting impacts on children. Postnatal paternal opioid abuse impacts are contemporaneous, and postnatal opioid exposure coincides with periods of broader family disadvantage.

Favorite Janet Memory:

Visiting Princeton for the first time in the final week of my postdoc in June 2021 was a memorable experience especially getting to meet Janet and the other postdocs, Adriana, Esmée, and Mike, in person at last. It was a beautiful, joyful day at Janet and Bentley’s home. I even got to experience the cicadas—whose buzzing still echoes in my ears.

Intergenerational Transmission of Lifespan in the US

Discussant:

Hannes Schwandt

Northwestern University

Favorite Janet Memory:

Working with Janet on a project is what defines a happy research experience for me -- this state of focused exploration, curiosity, freedom of thought, and high productivity. That's what we love our academic jobs for and it's pretty much a guaranteed experience whenever you work with Janet.

The Impact of Children‘s Disabilities on Families

Discussant: 

Hilary Hoynes

The Labor Market and Health Impacts of Reducing Cesarean Section Deliveries

Presenter:

Maya Rossin-Slater

Stanford University

Abstract:

One in three births in the United States is delivered by cesarean section (c-section). This paper studies the labor market and health effects of c-sections, using newly linked administrative data that combines the universe of California birth records with mothers' quarterly earnings. We analyze the impact of an intervention that reduced c-section rates among low-risk first-time births, and show that mothers exposed to the intervention are more likely to be employed in the quarter following birth, and more likely to return to their pre-birth employer. These impacts attenuate over time---suggesting that a c-section primarily delays return to the labor market following childbirth---but attachment to the pre-birth employer remains higher five quarters post-birth. Further, among mothers who have another child, we find that exposure to the intervention at the first birth leads to a lower likelihood of c-section and preterm delivery at the second one, implying that both the economic and health benefits of reduced c-sections may compound with birth order.

Favorite Janet Memory:

Many wonderful things come to mind from over the years of knowing Janet. One memory that stands out is from my PhD graduation at Columbia. I had the honor of being a speaker at the graduation, and even though Janet had already moved to Princeton by then, she nevertheless came to the graduation ceremony at Columbia. She sat on stage behind me when I spoke, and then she met my family at the reception afterwards. It meant so much for both my family and me to have Janet there on that day.

Effects of WIC on Birth Outcomes: Evidence from Newly Digitized Data from the National Archives

Discussant:

Katherine Meckel

UC San Diego

Favorite Janet Memory:

When she called me immediately after I sent an email requesting advice on tenure. It felt like I had barely pressed "send" on the email when the phone rang!

Providers, Places, and Children’s Mental Health Care

Presenter:

Gabriel Swagel

Abstract:

Children's mental health is the defining public health crisis of our time. Using insurance claims for a national sample of 8 million privately insured children, I provide the first systematic quantification of the drivers of variation in children's mental health prescribing in the United States. I separate variation in pediatric ADHD medication and antidepressant prescribing due to differences in: 1) primary care provider (PCP) prescribing intensities, 2) regional practice environments, and 3) child health and demand. I find that eliminating differences in PCP prescribing intensities would reduce the variance of provider prescribing rates by 50 percent for ADHD medication and 65 percent for antidepressants. Geographic variation analyses understate the extent of treatment variation and the role of providers in driving overall treatment variation. I also find suggestive evidence that higher-quality PCPs tend to have higher ADHD prescribing intensities but lower antidepressant prescribing intensities.

Favorite Janet Memory:

After I was accepted to Princeton, the first piece of advice I received was to try to work with Janet because she is not only a superstar economist, but also an incredibly dedicated advisor. Countless times in the past 3 years since, I have reflected that this is one of the best pieces of advice anyone has ever given me.