Search Results

Author: Molloy, Eamon
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Lillard, Dean R.
Molloy, Eamon
Sfekas, Andrew
Smoking Initiation and the Iron Law of Demand
Journal of Health Economics 32,1 (January 2013): 114-127.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629612001154
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Smoking (see Cigarette Use); Taxes

We show, with three longitudinal datasets, that cigarette taxes and prices affect smoking initiation decisions. Evidence from longitudinal studies is mixed but generally find that initiation does not vary with price or tax. We show that the lack of statistical significance partly results because of limited policy variation in the time periods studied, truncated behavioral windows, or mis-assignment of price and tax rates in retrospective data (which occurs when one has no information about respondents’ prior state or region of residence). Our findings highlight issues relevant to initiation behavior generally, particularly those for which individuals’ responses to policy changes may be noisy or small in magnitude.
Bibliography Citation
Lillard, Dean R., Eamon Molloy and Andrew Sfekas. "Smoking Initiation and the Iron Law of Demand." Journal of Health Economics 32,1 (January 2013): 114-127.