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Research ArticleArticle

Prescription Opioids and Labor Market Pains: The Effect of Schedule II Opioids on Labor Force Participation and Unemployment

Matthew C. Harris, Lawrence M. Kessler, Matthew N. Murray and Beth Glenn
Published online before print January 10, 2019, 0517-8782R1; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.55.4.0517-8782R1
Matthew C. Harris
Matthew C. Harris is an Assistant Professor in the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research and the Department of Economics in the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee.
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Lawrence M. Kessler
Lawrence M. Kessler is a Research Assistant Professor in the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research and the Department of Economics in the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee.
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  • For correspondence: [email protected]
Matthew N. Murray
Matthew N. Murray is a Professor in the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research and the Department of Economics in the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee.
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Beth Glenn
Beth Glenn is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Education Research Alliance at Tulane University in New Orleans.
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Abstract

We examine the effect of prescription opioids on county labor market outcomes, using data from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs of ten U.S. states and labor data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We achieve causal identification by exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in the concentration of high-volume prescribers as instruments (using Medicare Part D prescriber data). We find strong adverse effects on labor force participation rates, employment-to-population ratios, and unemployment rates. Notably, a 10 percent increase in prescriptions causes a 0.56 percentage point reduction in labor force participation, similar to the drop attributed to the 1984 liberalization of Disability Insurance.

JEL Codes
  • I12
  • I18
  • J20

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Journal of Human Resources: 60 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 60, Issue 3
1 May 2025
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Prescription Opioids and Labor Market Pains: The Effect of Schedule II Opioids on Labor Force Participation and Unemployment
Matthew C. Harris, Lawrence M. Kessler, Matthew N. Murray, Beth Glenn
Journal of Human Resources Jan 2019, 0517-8782R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.55.4.0517-8782R1

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Prescription Opioids and Labor Market Pains: The Effect of Schedule II Opioids on Labor Force Participation and Unemployment
Matthew C. Harris, Lawrence M. Kessler, Matthew N. Murray, Beth Glenn
Journal of Human Resources Jan 2019, 0517-8782R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.55.4.0517-8782R1
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Keywords

  • I12
  • I18
  • J20
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