The Effects of the Opioid Crisis on Employment: Evidence from Labor Market Flows

74 Pages Posted: 18 Nov 2021 Last revised: 27 Jul 2022

See all articles by Anita Mukherjee

Anita Mukherjee

Wisconsin School of Business

Daniel W. Sacks

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Hoyoung Yoo

University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

Date Written: July 27, 2022

Abstract

We show that the opioid crisis slows transitions to employment from unemployment and non-participation. We identify the effect of the opioid crisis from cross-state variation in triplicate prescribing regulations, which produced long-lasting reductions in opioid use by reducing the initial distribution of the blockbuster opioid OxyContin. Difference-in-differences estimates show that triplicate regulations induce unemployed and non-participating workers in triplicate states to return to employment about 10 percent faster than workers in non-triplicate states. These estimates imply a 1.1 percentage point higher level of employment in steady state.

Keywords: labor market flows; recession recovery; opioid regulation

JEL Classification: J21, E24, K32, E61, E71

Suggested Citation

Mukherjee, Anita and Sacks, Daniel W. and Yoo, Hoyoung, The Effects of the Opioid Crisis on Employment: Evidence from Labor Market Flows (July 27, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3964442 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3964442

Anita Mukherjee (Contact Author)

Wisconsin School of Business ( email )

975 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.anitamukherjee.com

Daniel W. Sacks

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Hoyoung Yoo

University of Illinois Urbana Champaign ( email )

Department of Agriculture and Biological Engg.
Urbana, IL 61801
United States

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