Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in Economics

First Advisor

John R. Gardner

Second Advisor

Thomas Garrett

Third Advisor

Mark Van-Boening

School

University of Mississippi

Relational Format

dissertation/thesis

Abstract

I examine the effect of laws and policies regulating the use of drugs onthe decision making of economic agents. In the first paper, I estimate the effects of legalized recreational marijuana on entry into the foster-care system by exploiting state-level variation in legalization and its timing, I estimate that legalization decreases foster-care placements by at least 10%, with larger effects in years after legalization. I find even larger decreases in admissions due to parental drug and alcohol abuse, implying that substitution towards marijuana from other substances is an important part of how legalization affects admissions. I find similar effects for admissions due to physical abuse and parental neglect.

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