AN NBER PUBLICATION ISSUE: No. 2, July 2019

The Bulletin on Health

Summarizes recent NBER Working Papers pertaining to health topics. It is distributed digitally three times a year and is free.
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Do Stricter Immunization Laws Increase Vaccination Rates?
The recent outbreak of measles in the United States has highlighted the health risks associated with losing herd immunity. To minimize future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable infectious disease, some states have recently considered increasing the stringency of immunization requirements for children. In Do Stricter Immunization Laws Improve Coverage? Evidence from the Repeal of Non-medical Exemptions for School Mandated Vaccines (NBER Working Paper 25847), researchers...

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Affiliates' Research in Medical Journals
Profile: Kitt Carpenter
List of Affiliates' Work in Medical and Other Journals with Pre-Publication Res…

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Lower Heating Prices Prevent Winter Deaths, Particularly from Cardiovascular and Respiratory Causes
Article
sld Death rates are known to be highest in winter months in areas with cold weather. In Inexpensive Heating Reduces Winter Mortality (NBER Working Paper 25681), researchers Janjala Chirakijja, Seema Jayachandran and Pinchuan Ong assess whether the cost of heating contributes to this “excess winter mortality.” High heating costs can present households with difficult tradeoffs: set their homes to uncomfortably low temperatures, or reduce their spending in other areas,...
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Reductions in Mortality Rates and Health Disparities with the Introduction of Penicillin
Article
The discovery of penicillin was arguably one of the most important medical advances of the 20th century. In Technological Progress and Health Convergence: The Case of Penicillin in Post War Italy (NBER Working Paper 25541), researchers Marcella Alsan, Vincenzo Atella, Jay Bhattacharya, Valentina Conti, Iván Mejía-Guevara and Grant Miller assess the distributional impact of this innovation on mortality in Italy following World War II. While there were long-standing...

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