Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/215192 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 12796
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Over the last two decades, the number of delivering mothers using or dependent on opiates has increased dramatically, giving rise to a five-fold increase in the proportion of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). First, the current study documents NAS trends in the United States and their substantial variation across states. Second, it explores the relationship, if any, between the adoption of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) and reductions in NAS incidence across the United States. We find that the introduction of operational PDMPs reduced NAS incidence in the United States by 10%. We also examined the effects on birth outcomes, infant mortality, and other pregnancy complications and find little evidence of any effect of PDMPs on birth weight, premature births, and infant mortality.
Subjects: 
opioid crisis
infant outcomes
health policy
United States
JEL: 
I10
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.