Publications

Conlin, M., K. Harris-Lagoudakis, C. Haughey, S. Jung, and H. Wich. (2024). The New Normal: Grocery Shopping Behavior Changes before and after the COVID-19 Vaccine. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 1–24. [Published Article]

This paper explores the relationship between adult healthcare utilization and hydraulic fracturing on the Eagle Ford Shale formation in Texas. Using a staggered difference-in-differences estimation strategy, I find that inpatient claims for conditions plausibly related to hydraulic fracturing increase by 15 percent in shale zip codes after the entry of hydraulic fracturing, relative to zip codes outside of the shale formation. However, this result could be explained by pollution exposure from hydraulic fracturing or compositional changes related to migration. I therefore construct a novel dataset that combines public water source data with healthcare claims and oil and natural gas well permit data to show that counties with unconventional drilling within one kilometer of a public groundwater source experience larger increases in healthcare utilization than those without unconventional drilling near their public water source. This estimation strategy compares changes in healthcare utilization between counties on the shale formation; those with drilling near a water source and those without drilling near a water source. The results are unlikely to be driven by compositional changes, suggesting that hydraulic-fracturing-related healthcare utilization is tied to drinking water contamination. [Working paper]

With Bradley Crowe and Graham Gardner

Revise and resubmit at Journal of Health Economics

Contraception and abortion both result in fertility reductions but identifying if they are substitutes remains an open question. Using administrative outpatient records from Texas, we exploit the passage of House Bill 2 (HB2), which imposed strict regulations on abortion providers, to identify the effects of restricted abortion access on the timing and demand for intrauterine devices (IUDs) and vasectomies using an event study design. We find evidence that expectations of limited abortion access significantly increase the demand for IUDs, with no substantial evidence of an effect for the incidence of vasectomies. These findings support the hypothesis that abortion and contraception are substitutes, particularly for individuals with the capacity to become pregnant. [Working paper]