Research

Working Papers

Minimum Wages, Medicaid Expansion and Individual Investment in Health (Job Market Paper)

Abstract: Preventative health care, such as annual checkups, flu shots, improved mental health, and HIV testing can have long term impacts on an individual's level of health through many different channels. As medical costs for comparable procedures within the United States continue to remain higher than in other developed nations yet with poorer patient health outcomes, mitigating these costs, and simultaneously finding ways to improve health outcomes remains an important policy concern. This paper examines the relationship between minimum wage changes and Medicaid expansion on preventative healthcare utilization and mental health using data from the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System as well as state level data from 2013 to 2023. Through the use of a staggered difference in difference approach while controlling for demographics, as well as both state and year fixed effects, it finds that minimum wages improve mental health for both males and females and leads to increased preventative care utilization. 

Minimum Wages and Birth Outcomes in Younger and Older Mothers (SSRN Working Paper #4877683)

Abstract: Poor infant birth outcomes, low birth weights and premature births in particular lead to increased medical costs for the infant and can often lead to an increased risk of health issues later in life. Avoiding these increased costs and emotional tolls are of important policy concerns as the costs of healthcare within the United States continues to rise. This paper examines the relationship between the minimum wage increases and birth outcomes for different maternal ages across the United States from 2012 to 2020 using the Pregnancy Risk and Management System (PRAMS) data set. Through the use of a continuous difference in difference model while controlling for demographics, birth characteristics, insurance coverage, and state-year time fixed effects, it finds that minimum wages have limited effects on decreasing adverse birth outcomes for teenage mothers, but shows a larger impact for older mothers in their twenties and thirties on Medicaid. Supplemental nutrition through women, infant and children as well as increased prenatal care visits are shown to improve birth outcomes across different maternal age ranges. 

Discouraged Workers, Marginally Attached Workers, and Economic Shocks

Abstract: This work aims to examine the demographic makeup of both discouraged and marginally attached workers over a thirty year time period using data from the current population survey. Discouraged and marginally attached workers are outside of the labor force, and potentially face the issue of skill deterioration as well as facing higher levels of economic uncertainty regarding their future. It finds that over the past several decades the proportion of discouraged and marginally attached workers with less than a high school diploma has been decreasing while the proportion with a diploma or some college has steadily been increasing for both subpopulations. Similarly, it finds that a slightly larger proportion of marginally attached workers report being male. Similarly, an increasing proportion of both discouraged and marginally attached workers report having no children in their household. It also finds that higher levels of educational attainment decrease the likelihood of individuals reporting being out of the labor force for any reason. Knowing the characteristics of these workers is important for both firms and government organizations to efficiently address them in future policies and recessions. 

Works in Progress

California's Paid Family Leave and Maternal Mental Health

Inflation and Non Durable Good Consumption with Yiran Zheng 

Economics Instruction and 21st Century Examples with James Kemper 

Cancer Treatment and Productivity with Alex Villanueva and Kaj Gittings

Conferences

Missouri Valley Economics Association (October 2024)