Causal Spousal Health Spillover Effects and Implications for Program Evaluation

Jason Fletcher; Ryne Marksteiner

doi:10.1257/pol.20150573

journal article Nov 01, 2017

Causal Spousal Health Spillover Effects and Implications for Program Evaluation

Jason Fletcher Ryne Marksteiner

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy Vol. 9 No. 4 pp. 144-166 · American Economic Association

View at Publisher Save 10.1257/pol.20150573

Abstract

Current methods of cost effectiveness analysis implicitly assume zero spillovers among social ties. This can underestimate the benefits of health interventions and misallocate resources toward interventions with lower comprehensive effects. We discuss the implications of social spillovers for program evaluation and document the first evidence of causal spillovers of health behaviors between spouses by leveraging experimental data from the Lung Health Study (smoking) and COMBINE Study (drinking). We find large decreases in spousal substance use from treatments with a therapy component, which reduces the incremental cost effectiveness ratios of some treatments by 12 to 18 percent. (JEL D61, H52, I12, I18, J12)

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

23

[1]

10.1257/aer.99.1.486

[2]

10.1513/pats.2306033

[3]

10.7326/0003-4819-142-4-200502150-00005

[4]

10.1001/jama.295.17.2003

[5]

10.1016/j.jhealeco.2004.12.002

[6]

10.1162/rest.91.4.695

[7]

10.1016/j.jpubeco.2010.12.005

[8]

10.1016/j.jhealeco.2006.02.002

[9]

10.1093/aje/kwu041

[10]

10.1016/j.jhealeco.2008.04.005

[11]

10.1162/rest_a_00139

[12]

10.1257/aer.104.7.2049

[13]

10.1016/j.jhealeco.2013.11.006

[14]

Falba Tracy A Health Services Research (2008) 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2007.00754.x

[15]

10.1177/08964302014003002

[16]

10.1257/aer.104.1.252

[17]

10.1257/jep.14.3.115

[18]

10.1057/eej.2013.34

[19]

10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.02.007

[20]

Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health in the Presence of Treatment Externalities

Edward Miguel, Michael Kremer

Econometrica 10.1111/j.1468-0262.2004.00481.x

[21]

10.1006/pmed.1993.1025

[22]

10.1016/s0277-9536(01)00253-2

[23]

10.1001/archpsyc.65.10.1214

Metrics

34

Citations

23

References

Details

Published: Nov 01, 2017
Vol/Issue: 9(4)
Pages: 144-166

Authors

J

Jason Fletcher

La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1225 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706 (email: )

R

Ryne Marksteiner

Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580 (email: )

Cite This Article

Jason Fletcher, Ryne Marksteiner (2017). Causal Spousal Health Spillover Effects and Implications for Program Evaluation. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 9(4), 144-166. https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20150573

Causal Spousal Health Spillover Effects and Implications for Program Evaluation

You May Also Like