Jan 27, 2018 By Christopher J. RuhmDavid BradfordCharles CourtemancheGarth HeutelPatrick McAlvanah Time Preferences and Consumer Behavior We investigate the predictive power of survey-elicited time preferences. The discount factor elicited from choice experiments using real payments predicts various health, energy, and financial outcomes, including overall self-reported health, smoking, installing energy-efficient lighting, and credit card balance. Allowing for time-inconsistent preferences, both the long-run and present-bias discount factors (δ and β) are also significantly associated in the expected direction with several outcomes. We consider several hypotheses regarding the strength of the association between discount factors and outcomes, such as salience of the outcome or liquidity constraints. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty Journal of Risk and Uncertainty Areas of focus Economics Christopher J. Ruhm Christopher J. Ruhm is a professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Ruhm’s recent research has focused on the role of government policies in helping parents with young children balance the competing needs of work and family life, and on examining how various aspects of health are produced – including the growth and sources of drug poisoning deaths in the United States, the rise in obesity and the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and health. Read full bio David Bradford Charles Courtemanche Garth Heutel Patrick McAlvanah Related Content Christopher J. Ruhm How State Policies Impacted Death Rates During COVID Research Despite considerable prior research, it remains unclear whether and by how much state COVID-19−related restrictions affected the number of pandemic deaths in the US. In a paper in the JAMA Health Forum, Professor Chris Ruhm finds that on the whole, stricter restrictions saved a substantial number of lives. Estimated Prevalence of and Factors Associated With Clinically Significant Anxiety and Depression Among US Adults During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic Research How much did clinically significant anxiety and depression increase among US adults during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic? In this survey study of more than 1.4 million respondents in the US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, responses to a screening question calibrated to a 4-item Patient Health Questionnaire score of 6 or greater suggested that aggregate prevalence of clinically significant anxiety and depression increased only modestly overall among US adults in 2020 compared with 2017 to 2019. How State Policies Impacted Death Rates During COVID News In a paper published in JAMA Health Forum, Professor of Public Policy and Economics Chris Ruhm finds that stringent COVID-19 restrictions saved lives during the pandemic based on a state-by-state analysis of health policies and COVID deaths. Ruhm Named SEA Distinguished Fellow News Chris Ruhm, Batten professor of public policy and economics, has received a Distinguished Fellow Award from the Southern Economic Association in recognition for his “substantial record of exceptional scholarly achievement and long-term involvement and service to the association.”
Christopher J. Ruhm Christopher J. Ruhm is a professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Ruhm’s recent research has focused on the role of government policies in helping parents with young children balance the competing needs of work and family life, and on examining how various aspects of health are produced – including the growth and sources of drug poisoning deaths in the United States, the rise in obesity and the relationship between macroeconomic conditions and health. Read full bio
How State Policies Impacted Death Rates During COVID Research Despite considerable prior research, it remains unclear whether and by how much state COVID-19−related restrictions affected the number of pandemic deaths in the US. In a paper in the JAMA Health Forum, Professor Chris Ruhm finds that on the whole, stricter restrictions saved a substantial number of lives.
Estimated Prevalence of and Factors Associated With Clinically Significant Anxiety and Depression Among US Adults During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic Research How much did clinically significant anxiety and depression increase among US adults during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic? In this survey study of more than 1.4 million respondents in the US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, responses to a screening question calibrated to a 4-item Patient Health Questionnaire score of 6 or greater suggested that aggregate prevalence of clinically significant anxiety and depression increased only modestly overall among US adults in 2020 compared with 2017 to 2019.
How State Policies Impacted Death Rates During COVID News In a paper published in JAMA Health Forum, Professor of Public Policy and Economics Chris Ruhm finds that stringent COVID-19 restrictions saved lives during the pandemic based on a state-by-state analysis of health policies and COVID deaths.
Ruhm Named SEA Distinguished Fellow News Chris Ruhm, Batten professor of public policy and economics, has received a Distinguished Fellow Award from the Southern Economic Association in recognition for his “substantial record of exceptional scholarly achievement and long-term involvement and service to the association.”