Effect of In utero Exposure to Air Pollution on Adulthood Hospitalizations.

Empirical analyses have demonstrated that individuals exposed to severe air pollution in utero have worse health outcomes during childhood. However, there is little evidence on the long-term health impacts of air pollution exposure. The objective of this paper is to estimate the effect of in utero exposure to the Great London Smog of 1952 (GLS) on five health outcomes identified through a scoping review to be those most likely affected: respiratory, circulatory, neoplasms, mental health, and nervous system conditions.

Cognitive activity at work and the risk of dementia.

Dementia prevalence is projected to rise steeply in coming decades, producing tremendous burdens on families, and health and social services. Motivated by the need for further robust evidence on modifiable risk factors, we investigate the relationship between cognitive activity at work and later-life dementia. Using data from the US Health and Retirement Study matched to the O*NET occupational database, we find that a one standard deviation increase in the cognitive activity associated with one's longest held occupation is associated with a 0.

Comparison of a full and partial choice set design in a labeled discrete choice experiment.

Labeled discrete choice experiments (DCEs) commonly present all alternatives using a full choice set design (FCSD), which could impose a high cognitive burden on respondents. In the setting of employment preferences, this study explored if a partial choice set design (PCSD) reduced cognitive burden whilst maintaining convergent validity compared with a FCSD. Respondents' preferences between the two designs were investigated.

Does affirmative action reduce disparities in healthcare use by Indigenous peoples? Evidence from Australia's Indigenous Practice Incentives Program.

Globally, Indigenous populations experience poorer health but use less primary healthcare than their non-Indigenous counterparts. In 2010, the Australian government introduced a targeted reform aimed at reducing these disparities. The reform reduced, or abolished prescription medicine co-payments and provided financial incentives for GPs to better manage chronic disease care for Indigenous peoples.

Reductions in out-of-pocket prices and forward-looking moral hazard in health care demand.

Little is known about how patients dynamically respond to a forthcoming reduction in health care out-of-pocket prices. Using a kinked Donut Regression Discontinuity design with kinks entering and exiting the donut, we evaluate a Swedish cost-sharing policy, where primary care out-of-pocket prices were eliminated at age 85. We find evidence of forward-looking moral hazard with older adults delaying primary care visits up to four months before the out-of-pocket elimination and shifting these visits until shortly after.

Implications of COVID-19 labour market shocks for inequality in financial wellbeing.

Australia's economy abruptly entered into a recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Related labour market shocks on Australian residents have been substantial due to business closures and social distancing restrictions. Government measures are in place to reduce flow-on effects to people's financial situations, but the extent to which Australian residents suffering these shocks experience lower levels of financial wellbeing, including associated implications for inequality, is unknown.

Structural stigma and sexual orientation disparities in healthcare use: Evidence from Australian Census-linked-administrative data.

This study explores the extent to which structural stigma (which encompasses sociocultural and institutional constraining factors) is associated with sexual orientation disparities in healthcare service and prescription medicine use. Using the responses to the 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, we use the regional percentage of votes against legalising same-sex marriage as a measure of structural stigma. We then map these results to Census-linked-administrative data, including 83,519 individuals in same-sex relationships - one of the largest administrative datasets to date where individuals in same-sex relationships are identified.