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AEA Papers and Proceedings

ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)

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Spillovers and Training Effects on Mental Health Prescribing for Children

  • Janet Currie
  • W. Bentley MacLeod
  • Mengsong Ouyang
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 114, May 2024
(pp. 394–400)
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Abstract

We use data on all prescriptions filled at US retail pharmacies from 2006 to 2018 to examine deviations from best practice in prescribing psychiatric medications to children. The results demonstrate the importance of spillovers from other doctors in the same area. However, individual doctor fixed effects remain extremely important. We also show that the practice styles of doctors who graduated in the same year from schools of the same rank evolve in a similar way across the country. Psychiatrists are less affected by area-level prescribing than general practitioners, suggesting that specific training can reduce spillovers in questionable prescribing practices.

Citation

Currie, Janet, W. Bentley MacLeod, and Mengsong Ouyang. 2024. "Spillovers and Training Effects on Mental Health Prescribing for Children." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 114: 394–400. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20241086

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • I12 Health Behavior
  • I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
  • J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth