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Articles by Benjamin Hansen
The Impact of Suicide Hotlines on Health: Evidence from 988 Implementation
Jiae Kim provided excellent research assistance. We thank Shari Eli, Bocar Ba, Jonathan Cantor, Julian Reif, Lise Vesterlund, Tianyi Wang, and seminar participants at ASHEcon 2025, BEDI Health & Wellness Conference, and Southeastern Health Economics Study Group for their valuable suggestions and feedback. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Did Drug Decriminalization Increase Overdoses
Supported by Grant 24-12072 from Arnold Ventures. Thank you to Adam Soliman, Jonathan Zhang, Emily Leslie, Jonathan Davis, Edward Rubin, Michael Kuhn, Lars Lefgren, and Jeffrey Denning for thoughtful advice and comments on earlier versions of this paper. We are grateful for the feedback from seminar participants at SDSU Brown Bag, Penn State, and UNLV. We also appreciate comments and thoughts from conference participants at APPAM, ASHE, SOLE, WEAI, and the 2025 IESR Labor Conference.
Coca’s Return and the American Overdose Fallout
We thank participants at various seminars and conferences for helpful comments. Donghang Zou provided excellent research assistance. All errors are our own. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Copy Citation Xinming Du, Benjamin Hansen, Shan Zhang, and Eric Zou, "Coca’s Return and the American Overdose Fallout," NBER Working Paper 34788 (2026), https://doi.org/10.3386/w34788.
Beyond Weight Loss: How GLP-1 RAs Established a Role in Cardiology in 2025
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are one of the fastest-growing drug families in medicine today. From humble beginnings as a method of insulin and glucagon management in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), GLP-1s have expanded into hepatology, cardiology, and even ophthalmology. Their role as an anti-inflammatory agent, coupled with their weight loss capabilities, has rocketed GLP-1 RAs to one of the top drugs in the industry.
Same Crime, Different Time: Disparities in Judicial Outcomes for DWI Offenders
We have benefited from helpful conversations with Jon Moreno-Medina, Roman Rivera, CarlyWill Sloan, and Brittany Street as well as seminar participants at Hanyang University and the University of Pennsylvania. We thank Porter Blackhurst, Gretel Busse, Ashlyn Dunn, Ammon Larsen, Michael McCormick, Paul Morrison, Lizzie Mukai, Daniel Peterson, Corbin Szenegato, Margaret Truman, Calvin Webber, Daniel Wilkerson, and Austin Woodley for excellent research assistance.
Expert Perspectives: Top News in Heart Failure from HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting 2025
The Heart Failure Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting 2025, incorporating over 50 scientific sessions and hundreds of abstract presentations from leading researchers, saw a slew of exciting trial updates and insights from some of the best minds in cardiology. During the conference, the editorial team at HCPLive sat down with several of these experts, collecting their thoughts on the most significant developments in heart failure in 2025.
Shifting tax incidence: Evidence from the Washington State cannabis market
Supporting Information Filename Description pam70041-sup-0001-Appendix.pdf1.4 MB SUPPORTING INFORMATION REFERENCES , , & (2015). Average-cost pricing: Some evidence and implications. European Economic Review, 79, 281–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2015.08.003 , , & (2022). Coordinated capacity reductions and public communication in the airline industry. The Review of Economic Studies, 89(6), 3055–3084. https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdab100 , & (2006).
Gun Policy and the Steel Paradox: Evidence from Oregunians
Skip to main content For their helpful feedback, we thank Stephen Billings, Rosanna Smart, Jeffrey Wooldridge, and participants at the 2023 SEA Annual Meetings, the 2024 WEA Annual Meetings, APPAM, and the VICE Seminar. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Related
"Computer Simulation of Microstructures Based on Two-point Correlation " by Benjamin L. Hansen and Dr. Brent Adams
Keywords computer simulation, mircostructures, two-point correlations functions College Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology Department Mechanical Engineering Abstract A great amount of variance exists in the properties of any material. The ability to accurately predict these properties allows for designers to find the “best” material in highly constrained design situations.
Importing the Opioid Crisis? International Trade and Fentanyl Overdoses
Skip to main content We thank Abby Alpert, Jillian Carr, Jon Davis, Bill Evans, Manasi Deshpande, David Hummels, Zubin Jelvah, Bob Kaestner, Ethan Lieber, Jens Ludwig, Steve Machin, Ed Rubin, Molly Schnell, and Kosali Simon for helpful comments, as well as conference and seminar participants at the Chicago/LSE Conference on the Economics of Crime and Justice, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Cornell University, Elon University, Florida Applied Micro Virtual Seminar, FREIT Empirical Trade Online...
The re‐emerging suicide crisis in the U.S.: Patterns, causes and solutions
REFERENCES , , , , , , & (2008). Methods of suicide: International suicide patterns derived from the WHO mortality database. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 86(9), 726–732. http://doi.org/10.1590/S0042-96862008000900017 , , , & (2020). The welfare effects of social media. American Economic Review, 110(3), 629–676. , & (2018). Child-access-prevention laws, youths’ gun carrying, and school shootings. The Journal of Law and Economics, 61(3), 489–524. , , & (2021).
The Re-Emerging Suicide Crisis in the U.S.: Patterns, Causes and Solutions
The suicide rate in the United States has risen nearly 40 percent since 2000. This increase is puzzling because suicide rates had been falling for decades at the end of the 20th Century. In this paper, we review important facts about the changing rate of suicide. General trends miss the story of important differences across groups – suicide rates rose substantially among middle aged persons between 2005 and 2015 but have fallen since.
In-Person Schooling and Youth Suicide: Evidence from School Calendars and Pandemic School Closures
Sabia acknowledges research support from the Center for Health Economics & Policy Studies (CHEPS), including grants received from the Troesh Family Foundation and the Charles Koch Foundation. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Joseph J.
Police Force Size and Civilian Race
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The Interactions between Drug Policy, Health Care, and the Criminal Justice System
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Schools, Job Flexibility, and Married Women's Labor Supply: Evidence From the COVID-19 Pandemic
We thank Sandra Black, Claudia Goldin, Jacob Goodman, Jennifer Heissel and participants at seminars at Dartmouth College and the Southern Economics Association 2021 Annual Meetings for helpful comments. We also thank Rebecca Margolit, Samuel Safford, Hannah Stuart and Marissa Talcott for excellent research assistance. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Joseph J.
Labor Reallocation and Remote Work During COVID-19: Real-time Evidence from GitHub
We thank seminar participants at Dartmouth College, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Monash University, and the University of Oregon for useful comments, questions and feedback. Gratis access to Google Cloud Platform is gratefully acknowledged. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Association Between Statewide COVID-19 Lottery Announcements and Vaccinations
Research Letter October 15, 2021 JAMA Health Forum. 2021;2(10):e213117. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.3117 Introduction In the United States, the COVID-19 vaccination rate slowed from a peak of 3.6 million vaccinations per day during the week of April 5, 2021, to fewer than 2 million vaccinations per day by the week of May 3, 2021. To boost vaccine uptake, 19 states announced large cash lotteries by July 1, 2021, that were tied to COVID-19 vaccination.
Police Force Size and Civilian Race
Abstract We report novel empirical estimates of the race-specific effects of larger police forces in the United States. Each additional police officer abates approximately 0.1 homicides. In per capita terms, effects are twice as large for Black versus white victims. Larger police forces also make fewer arrests for serious crimes, with larger reductions for crimes with Black suspects, implying that police force growth does not increase racial disparities among the most serious charges.
When cities add cops, Black residents could have the most to gain — and the most to lose - Niskanen Center
By Aaron Chalfin, Benjamin Hansen, Emily Weisburst, Morgan C. Williams Jr. As police shootings remain in the public eye and the Black Lives Matter movement demands change, vocal debate about “defunding” the police can obscure a critical point: Most Americans, Black and white, are clear that what they want is not the end of police, but better police. What people want is police who treat civilians with respect and reduce serious crime.
Police Force Size and Civilian Race
Skip to main content We are grateful to David Autor, Bocar Ba, Shooshan Danagoulian, Aria Golestani, Jens Ludwig, Jacob Kaplan, John MacDonald, Dan O’Flaherty, Emily Owens, Rajiv Sethi and Yulya Truskinovsky as well as seminar participants at the Southern Economic Association Annual Meetings and Wayne State University for helpful comments. Any remaining errors are our own. Correspondence: Benjamin Hansen, Department of Economics, University of Oregon, E-Mail: bchansen@uoregon.edu.
EARLY EVIDENCE ON RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION AND TRAFFIC FATALITIES
Original Article Benjamin Hansen E-mail address: bchansen@uoregon.edu 805‐284‐5935 | Fax: 541‐346‐1243 Professor, Department of Economics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403‐1285 Search for more papers by this author Keaton Miller E-mail address: keatonm@uoregon.edu 608‐576‐7175 | Fax: 541‐346‐1243 Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403‐1285 Search for more papers by this author Caroline Weber E-mail address: ceweber@uw.edu 541‐325‐3790 |...
The Unintended Consequences of “Ban the Box”: Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes When Criminal Histories Are Hidden
Jurisdictions across the United States have adopted “ban the box” (BTB) policies preventing employers from asking about job applicants’ criminal records until late in the hiring process. Their goal is to improve employment outcomes for those with criminal records, with a secondary goal of reducing racial disparities in employment. However, removing criminal history information could increase statistical discrimination against demographic groups that include more ex-offenders.
The Unintended Consequences of “Ban the Box”: Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes When Criminal Histories Are Hidden
F. Exploiting the Longitudinal Panel Feature of the CPS The CPS interviews households in a way that allows us to link individuals over time to create a longitudinal panel for a subset of respondents. Households are interviewed for 4 months in a row, then are dropped from the sample for 8 months, and then are interviewed for 4 more months. We use this longitudinal feature of the CPS to test for effects of BTB on employment dynamics.
Time for School? When the snow falls, test scores also drop
Students in the United States spend much less time in school than do students in most other industrialized nations, and the school year has been essentially unchanged for more than a century. This is not to say that there is no interest in extending the school year. While there has been little solid evidence that doing so will improve learning outcomes, the idea is often endorsed.
More COPS, less crime ☆
More COPS, less crime☆ Author links open overlay panelSteven Mello Show more Highlights • Recovery Act grants to local police departments increased police forces. • Each additional police officer prevented 4 violent crimes and 15 property crimes. • On average, the social value of a marginal police officer exceeds $300,000. • Impacts on crime were largest in areas most affected by the Great Recession. Abstract I exploit a natural experiment to estimate the causal effect of police on crime.
How Big Will Canada’s Legal Cannabis Market Be?
On October 17, 2018, Canada became the first G7 nation to fully legalize recreational cannabis. Cue the speculators. As a massive, formerly black market transforms into an above-board one, companies from around the globe in a range of disparate industries—agriculture, yes, but also tobacco, beer, software, and even fashion and design—aim to cash in. But no one knows exactly how large this market will be.
The Grass Is Greener on the Other Side: How Extensive Is the Interstate Trafficking of Recreational Marijuana?
Recreational marijuana will soon be available to nearly one in four U.S. residents. The potential for interstate spillovers and negative externalities as a consequence of these unilateral legal changes has attracted attention from policymakers across the political spectrum, including the U.S. Supreme Court and attorneys general from both parties.
Early Evidence on Recreational Marijuana Legalization and Traffic Fatalities
We resolve those challenges by using a synthetic control approach. Focusing on Colorado and Washington, we create a control group by choosing weights for states that have not legalized marijuana to match key variables in the prelegalization period, including testing rates for drugs and alcohol, trends in vehicle miles traveled, urbanicity, macroeconomic conditions, and preexisting trends of our outcome variables.
VOX, CEPR’s Policy Portal
Tax revenue has historically been one of the arguments in favour of legalising marijuana. This column uses a change in Washington’s marijuana tax regime to explore how taxation affects industry and consumer behaviour. Gross receipts taxes encourage vertical as a form of tax avoidance and thus reduce expected revenue. The choice of what to tax (revenue versus weight) also has important implications for how the market evolves.
Moving to Job Opportunities? The Effect of "Ban the Box" on the Composition of Cities
Abstract Jurisdictions across the United States have adopted "ban the box" (BTB) policies preventing employers from conducting criminal background checks until late in the job application process. Their primary goal is to increase employment for those with criminal records. If individuals with criminal records view these policies as improving their labor market opportunities, they might move to BTB-adopting places in search of employment.
How Hiding Criminal Records Hurts Black and Hispanic Men
Doleac is an assistant professor of public policy and economics at the University of Virginia and a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution. Hansen is an associate professor of economics at the University of Oregon and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. If we want to reduce incarceration rates, we must help ex-offenders build stable lives outside prison walls.
Does “Ban the Box” Help or Hurt Low-Skilled Workers? Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes When Criminal Histories are Hidden
Thanks to Amanda Agan, Shawn Bushway, David Eil, Kirabo Jackson, Jonathan Meer, Sonja Starr, and participants at the 2016 IRP Summer Research Workshop for helpful comments and conversations. Thanks also to Emily Fox and Anne Jordan for excellent research assistance. This study was generously supported by the Russell Sage Foundation. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Back to school blues: Seasonality of youth suicide and the academic calendar
Volume 30, Issue 5, October 2011, Pages 850–861Special Issue on Education and HealthEdited By Eric R. Eide and Daniel I. Rees AbstractPrevious research has found evidence of academic benefits to longer school years. This paper investigates one of the many potential costs of increased school year length, documenting a dramatic decrease in youth suicide in months when school is not in session.
Are the Effects of Minimum Wage Increases Always Small? New Evidence from a Case Study of New York State
Abadie, Alberto, Diamond, Alexis, Hainmueller, Jens. 2010. Synthetic control methods for comparative case studies of aggregate interventions: Estimating the effect of California's tobacco control program. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 105: 493–505. Google Scholar | Crossref Abowd, John M., Kramarz, Francis, Margolis, David N., 2000. Minimum wages and youth employment in France and the United States. In Blanchflower, David G., Freeman, Richard B.
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