CHE Seminar Series: Peer effects in recovery from substance use disorder
We study the impact of peers on recovery from substance use disorders using linked administrative data on Norwegian inpatients. Peers are defined based on overlapping treatment episodes and a common geographic area of residence. Waiting lists provide a source of quasi-experimental variation in peer exposure. We find that peers reduce all-cause and substance-induced mortality, reduce hospital admissions for substance-related disease, and have no discernible impact on admissions for substance-related poisoning. As highlighted by our theoretical framework, these findings are consistent with two mechanisms: peers supporting one another to abstain and, when use does occur, peers reducing harm by using together.
Speaker profile
Jenny Williams is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Melbourne. Her research interests lie broadly within the area of applied microeconomics with a focus on (risky) behaviors. The common theme underlying much of her research is empirically investigating the ways in which decisions and circumstances faced in youth impact on success in adulthood. She sees adolescence as a particularly interesting period to study from an economic perspective because, as children move into adolescence, the greatest risks to realizing their potential comes not from illness and disease, but from their own decision to engage in risky behaviours. Her research centres around understanding the causes and consequences of these decisions, and how public policy may influence them. More recently, she has used large linked administrative data sets and state of the art econometric techniques to examine the causal impact of alternatives to prison on reoffending, the impacts of wait time to access healthcare on health and economic outcomes, and on the potential to leverage peers to improve outcomes of healthcare treatment.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our Centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact Trong-Anh.Trinh@monash.edu.
Event Details
- Date:
- 5 March 2025 at 12:00 pm – 1:15 pm
- Venue:
- Caulfield campus, Building H, level 8, room H8.13
- Categories:
- CHE Seminar; General
Description
We study the impact of peers on recovery from substance use disorders using linked administrative data on Norwegian inpatients. Peers are defined based on overlapping treatment episodes and a common geographic area of residence. Waiting lists provide a source of quasi-experimental variation in peer exposure. We find that peers reduce all-cause and substance-induced mortality, reduce hospital admissions for substance-related disease, and have no discernible impact on admissions for substance-related poisoning. As highlighted by our theoretical framework, these findings are consistent with two mechanisms: peers supporting one another to abstain and, when use does occur, peers reducing harm by using together.
Speaker profile
Jenny Williams is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Melbourne. Her research interests lie broadly within the area of applied microeconomics with a focus on (risky) behaviors. The common theme underlying much of her research is empirically investigating the ways in which decisions and circumstances faced in youth impact on success in adulthood. She sees adolescence as a particularly interesting period to study from an economic perspective because, as children move into adolescence, the greatest risks to realizing their potential comes not from illness and disease, but from their own decision to engage in risky behaviours. Her research centres around understanding the causes and consequences of these decisions, and how public policy may influence them. More recently, she has used large linked administrative data sets and state of the art econometric techniques to examine the causal impact of alternatives to prison on reoffending, the impacts of wait time to access healthcare on health and economic outcomes, and on the potential to leverage peers to improve outcomes of healthcare treatment.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our Centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact Trong-Anh.Trinh@monash.edu.