Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Economics

Committee Chair

Albert Okunade

Committee Member

Joonhyung Lee

Committee Member

Andrew Hussey

Committee Member

Ebenezer George

Committee Member

Jamein Cunningham

Abstract

The first essay investigates the short, medium, and long run differential motor vehicle crash fatality effects and gender heterogeneity for the US states that switched to primary enforcement (drivers cited for failure to use seat belts) from secondary enforcement (non-belted drivers further cited for other traffic violations) of the seat belt law. The current study, employing an event study empirical strategy and 1979 to 2019 US state level data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), fills an important void in the literature. This design enables us to exploit variation in the location (treated and control states) and staggered timing of the states switching to primary enforcement effects on MVC fatality, five years pre- and six years post- the policy change. Study findings indicate that switching to the primary enforcement law generated statistically significant total occupant fatality reductions in the short, medium, and long runs. The long run decline in MVC fatality reduction impacts of the policy switch suggests weakened effectiveness. Placebo difference-in-differences estimation and other tests confirm robustness of the study results. We explore policy implications of the study findings. The second essay focuses on the effects of Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Grant Program (EBMGP) on drug overdose mortality using 1980-2012 data from National Vital Statistics Systems (NVSS) multiple cause of death files. Using an event study framework, we exploit variations in both the funding location (treated counties and control counties) and the timing of grants receipts to investigate their effect on drug overdose deaths in US counties 6 years before and 6 years after receiving program funding. Study findings indicate a statistically significant uptick in drug overdose deaths during the years following the receipt of grants. Remarkably, a statistically insignificant reduction in drug overdose mortality in urban counties occurred following program funding receipt. The scenario is quite different in rural counties, where funding is paradoxically related to a notable rise in drug overdose mortality rates. One potential reason for this finding is that sparsely distributed rural county residents are also comparatively less educated and are more likely to misuse opioids in the absence of adequate and effective on-site intervention response resources. Study findings have implications for improving the spatial distribution of public health facilities and emergency response entities in rural counties. The third essay explores how negligent storage provision of Child Access Prevention (CAP) law influences youth firearm related homicides. This study, using 1984-2018 U.S. state-level data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) multiple cause of death file, is the first to employ a synthetic control empirical strategy in this line of work. After controlling for state level covariates and the outcome variable lags in constructing the synthetic control for each treated state, findings confirm that the states Texas, Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and North Carolina, would have experienced a higher incidence of youth firearm-related homicides in the absence of CAP law. Surprisingly, youth firearm homicides in the states of Maryland and Florida rose. This finding could be due to the weak penalties for the offending adults. Consequently, imposing more stringent penalties on the offenders could be a more potent policy tool for reducing youth firearm homicides in these states.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Embargoed until 07-16-2025

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Available for download on Wednesday, July 16, 2025

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