TY - JOUR T1 - The Impact of Opioids on the Labor Market: Evidence from Drug Rescheduling JF - Journal of Human Resources JO - J Hum Resour DO - 10.3368/jhr.0320-10762R1 SP - 0320-10762R1 AU - David Beheshti Y1 - 2022/03/09 UR - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2022/03/01/jhr.0320-10762R1.abstract N2 - The areas most affected by the opioid crisis have witnessed deteriorating economic conditions, although it is unclear if this represents a causal relationship. I provide new evidence on this question by leveraging a natural experiment which sharply decreased the supply of hydrocodone, the most commonly prescribed opioid in the US, relative to other opioids. Areas with larger reductions in hydrocodone prescribing experienced relative improvements in labor force participation and employment. However, these areas also witnessed higher growth in drug-related arrests. I find some evidence of reductions in illicit opioid deaths which are offset by increases in other drug-related deaths. ER -