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Travis Whitacre

@traviswhitacre.bsky.social

Yale Postdoc | SMU PhD | Fields: Health Economics, Labor Economics, Applied Microeconometrics | Studying child development, mortality, and health inequities | he/him | WT alum Website: https://traviswhitacre.github.io/

84 Posts1146 Follower1336 Folgt
Travis Whitacre@traviswhitacre.bsky.social · 11mo ago

While about ADHD and not ASD: “‘the rise of ADHD is a consequence of what might otherwisebe considered a good thing: that the world we live in increasingly values intellectual consideration and rationality ... Modernity didn’t create ADHD It revealed it.’” - Malcolm Gladwell, 1999

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD@elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 11mo ago

There is a lot of focus on Tylenol and autism spectrum disorder today, but RFK Jr. is also suggesting that low folate levels contribute. First, a reminder that genetics are the overwhelming contributor to ASD—up to 90%. Anything else he pulls out is likely to have minimal impact on ASD rates.

Travis Whitacre@traviswhitacre.bsky.social · last yr.

Hi #EconSky! I was on the market this past cycle, specifically focused on the DC-Maryland-Virginia area because my fiancé is at the Fed Board (we get married this May). I had a few government offers, all of which ended up being affected by the current civil service cuts.

Travis Whitacre@traviswhitacre.bsky.social · last yr.

Congratulations to my soon to be father in law for winning the “Nobel” prize in Political Science! 👏 👏 👏

Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science@skytteprize.bsky.social · last yr.

Herbert P. Kitschelt is the winner of the 2025 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. 🏆 He is awarded the prize for " having increased knowledge of the functioning of democratic party systems with exquisite theoretical acuity and impressive empirical breadth and depth."

Travis Whitacre@traviswhitacre.bsky.social · last yr.

Also important in response to these takes: slower growth from a recession does not necessarily mean lower prices if the economy is stagflationary. (Ahem, tariffs)

Guy Berger@econberger.bsky.social · last yr.

1/ I'm seeing a bad take floating around: "even a bad recession boosts the unemployment rate only to 10%; for the other 90% the recession is an opportunity to buy cheap houses." But recessions and their aftermath are bad for more than 50% of households.

WIRED@wired.com · 2y ago

EXCLUSIVE: The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department. It’s also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls Social Security payments, tax returns, and more.

A 25-Year-Old With Elon Musk Ties Has Direct Access to the Federal Payment System

The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department. It’s also where, sources say, a 25-year-old engineer tied to Elon Musk has admin privileges over the code that controls So...

wired.com

ᴅᴀɴɪᴇʟ ᴍɪʟʟɪᴍᴇᴛ ✡️☮️❤️@dlmillimet.bsky.social · 2y ago

Starting off the new year proudly! My former student, @traviswhitacre.bsky.social ‘s first publication! Congrats! jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Flavored E-Cigarette Sales Restrictions and Young Adult Tobacco Use

This quasi-experimental survey study evaluates the association of restrictions on flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems with vaping and cigarette smoking among 18- to 29-year-old individuals i...

jamanetwork.com

Travis Whitacre@traviswhitacre.bsky.social · 2y ago

Our new article in JAMA Health Forum “Flavored E-Cigarette Sales Restrictions and Young Adult Tobacco Use” is now live on JAMA! Give it a look! #EconSky jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Flavored E-Cigarette Sales Restrictions and Young Adult Tobacco Use

This quasi-experimental survey study evaluates the association of restrictions on flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems with vaping and cigarette smoking among 18- to 29-year-old individuals i...

jamanetwork.com

Timothy McBride@mcbridetd.bsky.social · 2y ago

Since media continues obsession with CEO killer, I'll renew suggestion..focus instead on HEALTH POLICY Some additional suggested topics (others below): -potential cuts to Medicaid in next Congress -science on vaccines -health costs -consolidation,effects on prices -declining life expectancy

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Timothy McBride@mcbridetd.bsky.social · 2y ago

MEDIA: please stop with obsession with CEO murderer? Could you spend at least 10% of this time focusing on HEALTH POLICY ISSUES? Could start list for you: -affordable health insurance -medical debt -public health -workforce issues -rural health -long term care -maternal mortality -disparities

Travis Whitacre@traviswhitacre.bsky.social · 2y ago

Really interesting paper. A thought on a potential factor (beyond the obvious less resources + connections). A perception gap: Lower income groups may perceive the benefit as less, or the costs + barrier of entry as higher, to even try applying. From my experience: (1/5)

Prof Dynarski@dynarski.bsky.social · 2y ago

Holy crap this is an astounding piece of historical research Will post ungated link later today unless someone beats me to it www.nber.org/system/files...

The G.I. Bill, Standardized Testing, and Socioeconomic Origins of the U.S. Educational Elite Over a Century Ran Abramitzky, Jennifer K. Kowalski, Santiago Pérez, and Joseph Price NBER Working Paper No. 33164 November 2024 JEL No. 123, 124, N32 ABSTRACT We compile, transcribe, and standardize historical records for 2.5 million students at 65 elite (private and public) U.S. colleges. By combining these data with more recent survey and administrative data, we assemble the largest dataset on the socioeconomic backgrounds of students at American colleges spanning the last 100 years. We document the following: First, despite a large increase in the share of lower-income students in the overall college-going population, the representation of these students at elite private or public colleges has remained at similarly low levels throughout the last century. Second, the representation of upper-income students at elite colleges decreased after World War II, but this group has regained its high representation since the 1980s. Third, while there has been no increase in the economic diversity of elite private and public colleges, these colleges have become more racially and geographically diverse. Fourth, two major policy changes in the history of American higher education, namely the G.I. Bill after World War II and the introduction of standardized tests for admissions, had little success in increasing the representation of lower- and middle-income students at elite colleges.