For 40 years health care share of GDP rose almost every year. Since 2009, it's been slower. Smith & Newhouse argue that it is a lasting bend rather than a pause. The Economist read it as good news on ageing. www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/07/09/an-ageing-society-might-not-cost-too-much

New paper! Bratti et al. study whether COVID-19 reshaped firms’ hiring toward work-from-home-suitable jobs in Italy. Harder-hit areas saw an increase in WFH hires, especially permanent contracts, but the effect was short-lived. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/742272 #WorkFromHome #HealthEcon

Do health differences reflect where people live or who lives there? Economists use movers to separate the two. But movers vary in overlooked ways, explaining 18–49% of Medicare spending & 19–77% of hospitalization differences. Fixed effects don't fix it. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/733366

New paper! Good vision is essential for learning. Evidence shows that targeted follow-up after failed vision screenings can connect more students to eye care, addressing a common but often overlooked barrier to academic success. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/734326 #HumanCapital #ChildHealth

New! Using Japanese long-term care (LTC) data & RD design, Iizuka & Sugawara find higher care-level certification raises preventive LTC spending but doesn't improve future care needs, health, or later costs, raising questions about preventive LTC design. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/742369

In Print! Can clean water in early life shape longevity decades later? Using water filtration programs in 25 cities, @hamidnb.bsky.social & @jasonmfletcher.bsky.social find that childhood exposure to filtered water increased male longevity by 3 months. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/734081

New! Gehrsitz & Williams examine effects of education on health. Exploiting a raising of school age (ROSLA) reform, they find that education reduces hospitalizations. Health improvements are strongest for life-style related conditions and among men. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/741687

New! @nicolesiegal.bsky.social examines the relationship between early exposure to the opioid epidemic and US voting behavior. State policies tied to greater opioid exposure were followed by lasting shifts in presidential voting toward the GOP. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/742007

🏆 Congratulations to David Zimmer @wkuhilltoppers.bsky.social, winner of the 2025 American Journal of Health Economics Referee of the Year Award. The award recognizes a reviewer whose reports have been exceptionally insightful, comprehensive, and timely. Thank you for the invaluable service to AJHE!

And... the Best Paper Award goes to "The Effect of Hospital Maternity Ward Closures on Maternal and Infant Health" by Emily Battaglia (www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/727738)! Wards close, C-sections fall for low-risk moms -- babies just as healthy still.

The latest issue of American Journal of Health Economics (AJHE) is now available on the University of Chicago Press Journals website! journals.uchicago.edu/toc/ajhe/cur...

New! Price transparency was meant to lower costs. In a large NY RCT, it instead raised charges ~1% (driven by lower-priced providers with few out-of-network patients) with no change in patient behavior -- likely helping providers benchmark, not consumers shop. journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

New paper! @mikepesko.bsky.social & @rachelylfung.bsky.social find no meaningful evidence that e-cigs crowd out NRT sales, cessation prescriptions, quitline calls,or smoking quit attempts, suggesting e-cigs reach smokers not interested in quitting otherwise. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

New paper by @basucally.bsky.social! How much of a drug's social value should go to innovators? 100% maximizes long-run welfare, but less if society prioritizes consumer surplus—especially when small countries can free-ride on others' R&D. #DrugPricing www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

conversableeconomist.com/2026/03/27/bending-the-curve-of-health-care-costs-at-last/ "Bending the curve” of healthcare costs is back in the conversation. What’s driving it? Timothy Taylor discusses recent work by Cutler&Klarnet on the US and a new AJHE paper by Smith&Newhouse on international trends:

Bending the Curve of Health Care Costs (At Last?) - Conversable Economist

Health care spending had been a rising share of US GDP for decades, but since about 2010, the rate of increase seemed to level out. David M. Cutler and Lev Klarnet address "Has the United States bent ...

conversableeconomist.com

New paper! Expanding public insurance to parents benefits parents and generates spillovers to children, improving their health care utilization. The estimates highlight intergenerational effects relevant for welfare analysis. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/733364 @michellemmarcus.bsky.social

New paper! State reinsurance programs cut ACA Marketplace premiums but didn't boost net enrollment. They helped unsubsidized consumers while raising costs for subsidized ones — mostly a transfer to insurers without fundamental changes to the Marketplaces. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/733523

International recognition for AJHE! The Australian Business Deans Council Journal Quality List has upgraded AJHE from A to A*. It reflects sustained improvements in quality and impact. Huge credit to @davidslusky.bsky.social and Australia and NZ–based economists, led by Jenny Williams (Melbourne).

New AJHE paper: Among Arkansas Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in private plans, narrower provider networks reduced in-network PCP and specialist visits. Patients shifted to out-of-network care, especially for specialists, but overall PCP use still fell. 🔗 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...