Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/316726 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17771
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We investigate the health and labor market consequences of primary care variation in benzodiazepine prescriptions, a common type of low-value care. Linking Dutch general practitioners' records to administrative data, we construct an exogenous measure of prescribing behavior that exploits institutional constraints limiting patient choice. Using the loss of a close relative as a common mental health shock and a dynamic difference-in-differences approach, we find that patients treated by high-prescribing GPs are more likely to receive out-of-guidelines benzodiazepine prescriptions, become long-term users, and are less likely to access specialized mental health care. These patients also experience worse labor market outcomes, including increased short-term reliance on unemployment benefits and substantial long-term declines in earnings, primarily driven by reduced wages.
Subjects: 
labor market
mental health
prescribing style
primary care
benzodiazepine
bereavement
JEL: 
I11
I18
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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