Essays in Applied Microeconomics

Abstract

Improving population health, educating adolescents, and reducing crime rates are all goals that economists and policy makers share. To practice evidence-based decision making, policy makers must be informed about how economic shocks affect different populations and how to target policies for optimal impact. This dissertation consists of three chapters in which applied microeconomic tools are used to study health and educational outcomes. My first chapter analyzes the effects of recreational gun use on violent crime and drug-related arrests, targeting an understudied population in the gun policy literature: rural Americans. My results provide no evidence that recreational gun use is positively associated with violent crime, while additional recreational opportunity may decrease alcohol and drug related arrests. The second chapter investigates the effects of a low-skill labor demand shock in rural North Dakota on educational outcomes. Estimates imply that the oil boom significantly decreased male and female college enrollment rates. The third chapter examines the impact of economic conditions on an outcome strongly linked to individual health: sleep duration. Estimates suggest that weekday sleep is countercyclical while weekend sleep is actually procyclical.