Opioids account for 44% of decrease in men’s labor force participation 2001-15

This paper finds evidence that opioid availability decreases labor force participation while a large labor market shock does not influence the share of opioid abusers. This relationship remains significant for important demographic groups when increasingly strong panel data controls, including a full set of geographic fixed effects and measures of local labor market conditions in 2000, are introduced to the regressions. We also investigate the possibility of reverse causality, using the Great Recession as an instrument to identify the effect of weak labor demand on opioid abuse.

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