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AbstractAlthough they comprise a relatively small subset of all traffic deaths, hit‐and‐run (HR) fatalities are both contemptible and preventable. We analyze longitudinal data from 1982 to 2008 to examine the effects of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) laws on HR traffic fatalities. Our results suggest that lower BAC limits may have an unintended consequence of increasing HR fatalities, whereas a similar effect is absent for non‐HR fatalities. Specifically, we find that the adoption of a 0.08 BAC limit is associated to an 8.3% increase in HR fatalities. This unintended effect is more pronounced in urban areas and during weekends, which are typical settings for HR incidents.

Although recent research has shown that drug abuse treatment reduces drug use and criminal activity in some clients, the impact of treatment on clients' post‐treatment labor market behavior is relatively unknown. This study uses data from a longitudinal survey to analyze annual legal and illegal earnings for 2,420 drug abusers. The analysis focuses on two different time intervals—one year before entering a drug abuse treatment program and one year after leaving the same program. It describes client characteristics, labor market variables, and treatment history, and estimates the effects of length of time in treatment on post‐treatment earnings. The regression analysis shows that length of time in treatment had a positive (negative) and statistically significant impact on real legal (illegal) earnings following treatment for methadone and residential clients, but the magnitude was small; accounting for possible selection bias had little effect on the results. Although residential clients experienced the largest relative changes in earnings outcomes, simply comparing the direct cost of residential treatment with the benefits from improved legal earnings and lower illegal earnings suggests that additional residential treatment is not cost‐beneficial.

When people consume products violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD & C) Act they may experience morbidity or mortality from foodborne illness. Some studies have used survey data to estimate the dollar value of avoiding a few illnesses, but surveys are expensive and the resulting estimates cannot easily be generalized to the wide variety of foodborne illnesses. We develop a method that uses published data to estimate the value of avoiding morbidity and mortality from foodborne illnesses using two metrics–quality‐adjusted life‐years and dollars. The method first describes the effects of different illnesses on the patient and then converts these descriptions into changes in time spent in different health states with different relative utility weights. We use these estimated changes to compute losses in quality‐adjusted life‐years with different illnesses. We then use the empirical literature to estimate a value for these lost quality‐adjusted life‐years. We demonstrate our method and derive estimates for the value of avoiding a future case of botulism, salmonellosis, chronic hepatitis, and bladder cancer. Researchers can use our method to compare the value of avoiding all illnesses caused by violations of the FD & C Act. More importantly, government officials can use our method to quickly and cost‐effectively generate morbidity and mortality valuation estimates for any illness for policy purposes.

Purpose. To examine the association between alcohol use and self-reported health status. In particular, we sought to determine whether moderate drinkers are more likely to self-report above-average health status compared with other current drinkers, former drinkers, and lifetime abstainers. Design. Cross-sectional survey. Setting. Continental United States. Subjects. The sample adult component of the 2002 U.S. National Health Interview Survey (n = 31,044), representative of the U.S. noninstitutionalized civilian household population. Measures. Dichotomous measure of above-average self-reported health status relative to all other health states. Several measures characterized alcohol use patterns (i.e., continuous and categorical measure of alcohol use, a proxy measure of problem drinking, former drinking, lifetime abstaining). Chronic health conditions and various demographic and lifestyle factors were included as covariates in all regression models. Results. For both men and women, current moderate drinkers had the highest odds (OR = 1.27 for men, p < .01; OR = 2.03 for women, p < .01) of reporting above-average health status compared with other current drinkers, former drinkers, and lifetime abstainers. The odds dropped to 1.12 and 1.34, respectively, when all past-year drinkers were collapsed into a single group. Conclusion. Moderate alcohol consumption was associated with the highest odds of reporting above-average health status, even after controlling for chronic health conditions and demographic and lifestyle factors associated with health.

This study used data collected from 1996 to 1997 in low‐income and high‐crime neighborhoods in Miami, Florida, to analyze the effects of chronic drug use on employment. Given the significant gender differences in substance use patterns and labor market behavior, separate models were estimated for males and females. The analysis estimated univariate probit models of employment and bivariate probit models that allow for possible correlation among missing or unobserved determinants of drug use and employment. The key finding was that regardless of gender and specification, chronic drug use significantly reduced the probability of being employed. (JEL I12, J22, J24)

Although schools in the United States adopted harsher disciplinary policies in the early 1990s, to date, there is little evidence showing whether severe school sanctions against student misconduct prevent crime. Drawing on both deterrence and rational choice theories, we test the proposition that harsh school‐based policies against violence reduce students' involvement in violent behavior. However, in contrast to prior research that explores the direct link between sanctions and student behavior, we emphasize the role of school sanctions in adolescent cognitive decision‐making processes, hypothesizing that school sanctions against violence condition the effect of thoughtfully reflective decision making (TRDM) on adolescent involvement in violent behavior. We use data from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to test our research hypotheses. The results from a series of multilevel models show that more severe school sanctions against violence (i.e., home suspension and expulsion) disarm the process of cognitive reflection and attenuate the effect of low TRDM on violent offending.