While the prevalence of smokeless tobacco (ST) is low relative to smoking, the distribution of ST use is highly skewed with consumption concentrated among certain segments of the population (rural residents, males, whites, low-educated individuals). Furthermore, there is suggestive evidence that...

There is widespread concern about the quality of health care in the US, and the effect of provider payments on the quality of care is an important and unsettled issue in this debate. The critical question is whether changes in provider payments affect health. To date there is relatively little...

We obtain estimates of associations between statin use and health behaviors. Statin use is associated with a small increase in BMI and moderate (20–33%) increases in the probability of being obese. Statin use was also associated with a significant (e.g., 15% of mean) increase in moderate...

In this paper, we examine the effect of changes in population density--urban sprawl--between 1970 and 2000 on BMI and obesity of residents in metropolitan areas in the U.S. We address the possible endogeneity of population density by using a two-step instrumental variables approach. We exploit...