247157 50 States as Laboratory: Quasi-Experimental Panel-Data Methods

Monday, October 31, 2011: 9:30 AM

Philip J. Cook, PhD , Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC
     
A cornerstone of public health law research is to generate and promote the use of evidence in developing policies and laws that improve the health of the population. Modern statistical methods help implement an old idea that the states can serve as a laboratory for testing new policies and programs. In some policy arenas, including alcohol control, tobacco control, gun regulation, and abortion policy, a number of states have adopted the same or similar policy innovation over a period of years. However, the evidence to support or refute the impact of such policy innovations is not always available. Regression analysis on long panels of state administrative data may provide reliable estimates of the causal effects of such innovations on public health outcomes. The purpose of the session is to introduce public health law researchers to quasi-experimental panel-regression methods using data on state policy changes to evaluate the impact of state-level policy innovation on population level health outcomes.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
• Describe examples of existing research studies which analyze state panel data to determine the public-health effects of changes in state law or policy • Analyze this approach to estimating causal effects

Keywords: Methodology, Law

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Philip J. Cook is ITT/Sanford Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Economics and Sociology at Duke University. Dr. Cook's research focuses on policy interventions to address high-risk behaviors including gun violence and alcohol.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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See more of: Epidemiology