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  3. American Economic Review: Insights
  4. December 2021
  5. Teenage Driving, Mortality, and Risky Behaviors

Teenage Driving, Mortality, and Risky Behaviors

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Abstract

We investigate the effect of teenage driving on mortality and risky behaviors in the United States using a regression discontinuity design. We estimate that total mortality rises by 5.84 deaths per 100,000 (15 percent) at the minimum legal driving age cutoff, driven by an increase in motor vehicle fatalities of 4.92 deaths per 100,000 (44 percent). We also find that poisoning deaths, which are caused primarily by drug overdoses, rise by 0.31 deaths per 100,000 (29 percent) at the cutoff and that this effect is concentrated among females. Our findings show that teenage driving contributes to sex differences in risky drug use behaviors.

Citation

Huh, Jason, and Julian Reif. 2021. "Teenage Driving, Mortality, and Risky Behaviors." American Economic Review: Insights, 3 (4): 523-39. DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20200653

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • I12 Health Behavior
  • J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
  • J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
  • R41 Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise