Introductory microeconomics and an undergraduate-level econometrics course (or its equivalent) are required.

Health behaviors (e.g., smoking, drug use, and poor dietary habits) impose billions of dollars of costs each year on the residents of the United States and other developed countries. This course teaches an economic approach to studying the determinants of health behaviors with the goal of identifying effective policies. The extensive economic literature on the causes and consequences of health behaviors will be studied. Students will use a statistical software package (e.g., R or STATA) and health-related micro (i.e., individual-level) data from, for instance, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to complete their homework assignments. The specific goals of this course are to: 1. Understand the economic approach to studying health behaviors such as substance use and smoking. 2. Analyze the policies that affect health behaviors. 3. Start the transition from being a consumer of research to being a producer of research through the analysis of health-related micro data. 4. Understand the quasi-experimental approach to doing applied health research, its limitations and its strengths. Students will be expected to read and (with the help of the instructors) interpret original research in the economics, public health, and medical literatures. Students will be expected to complete the assigned readings in advance of each class and be prepared to discuss them in the practical sessions.

K1: Acquire the knowledge, techniques and terminology specific to the field of economics, politics and international relations. K3: To know basic humanistic contents, oral and written expression, following ethical principles and completing a multidisciplinary training profile. K4: Acquire knowledge of the economic, legal, political and social reality from a comparative perspective. K8: To understand the differentiating elements of international problems according to the degree of development of a country. S2: Critically relate current and past events and processes S3: Plan and organize team work making the right decisions based on available information and gathering data in digital environments. S4: Use information interpreting relevant data avoiding plagiarism, and in accordance with the academic and professional conventions of the area of study, being able to assess the reliability and quality of such information. S6: Be able to apply the scientific method to the social, political and economic questions posed by the globalized society. S7: Be able to identify, access and manage sources of information relevant to comparative analysis in the field of politics, economics and international relations. S10: Ability to gather and interpret relevant data and knowledge for the elaboration and defense of arguments on topics in their area of study. S11: Ability to discern which quantitative or qualitative research technique is the appropriate one to apply depending on the phenomenon being analyzed. C3: Ability to establish good interpersonal communication and to work in multidisciplinary and international teams. C4: Be able to engage in lifelong autonomous learning, enabling them to adapt to new situations.

1. Introduction 2. The Experimental Ideal Suggested Readings: Angrist, Joshua and Jorn-Steffen Pischke 2010. The Credibility Revolution in Empirical Economics: How Better Research Design is Taking the Con out of Econometrics. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24 (2): 3-30. Card, David. 1990. The Impact of the Mariel Boatlift on the Miami Labor Market. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 43(2): 245-257. 3. Review: Regression Analysis, Omitted Variable Bias, and Difference-in-Differences Estimation Suggested Readings: Hamermesh, Daniel S. and Jeff E. Biddle. 1994. Beauty and the Labor Market. American Economic Review, 84 (5): 1174-1194. Wooldridge, Jeffrey M. 2013. Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach (5th edition). Mason OH: South-Western, Chapters 2, 3 and 14. 4. Obesity Required Reading: Fletcher, Jason, David Frisvold, and Nathen Tefft. 2010. Can Soft Drink Taxes Reduce Population Weight? Contemporary Economic Policy, 28(1), 23-35. Suggested Reading: Wooldridge, Jeffrey M. 2013. Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach (5th edition). Mason OH: South-Western, Chapters 2, 3 and 14. 5. Addiction, Smoking and Taxes Required Reading: Friedman, Abigail S. 2015. How Does Electronic Cigarette Access Affect Adolescent Smoking? Journal of Health Economics, 44: 300-308. 6. Identifying Peer Effects Suggested Reading: Cohen-Cole, Ethan and Jason Fletcher. 2008. Detecting Implausible Social Network Effects in Acne, Height, and Headaches: Longitudinal Analysis. British Medical Journal, 337: a2533. Required Reading: Carrell, Scott E., Mark Hoekstra, and James E. West. 2011. Is Poor Fitness Contagious? Evidence from Randomly Assigned Friends. Journal of Public Economics, 95: 657-663. 7. Gun Violence, Bullying, and Suicides Suggested Readings: Lott, John R. Jr., and David B. Mustard. 1997. Crime Deterrence, and the Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns. Journal of Legal Studies, 26(1): 1¿68. Hansen, Benjamin, Joseph J. Sabia, and Jessamyn Schaller. 2023. In-Person Schooling and Youth Suicide: Evidence from School Calendars and Pandemic School Closures. Journal of Human Resources, 59 (S): S227-S255. 8. Alcohol Consumption and Public Health 9. Alcohol, Marijuana, and Public Health 10. The Opioid Epidemic 11. The Relationship between Education and Substance Use Required Reading: Marie, Olivier and Ulf Zölitz. 2017. High Achievers? Cannabis Access and Academic Performance. The Review of Economic Studies, 84 (3): 1210¿1237. 12. Deaths of Despair Suggested Reading: Case, Anne and Angus Deaton. 2021. The Great Divide: Education, Despair and Death. NBER WP No. 29241.

Students are expected to attend class and to be actively engaged during lectures and discussions. In addition, students will be required to complete several homework assignments using health-related micro data.