Early smoking, education, and labor market performance

This study investigates the effects of early smoking on educational attainment and labor market performance by using mixed ordered and mixed proportional hazard models. The results show that early smoking adversely affects educational attainment and initial labor market performance, but only for males. The probability to finish a scientific degree is 4%-point lower for an early smoker. The effect of early smoking on initial labor market performance is indirect through educational attainment. Once the indirect effect is controlled for there is no direct effect. Moreover, for males only, early smoking has a negative effect on current labor market performance even after conditioning on educational attainment. The probability to have an academic job is 4%-point lower for an early smoker. For females neither education nor labor market performance is affected by early smoking

Cannabis use and support for cannabis legalization

We investigate the determinants of the support for cannabis legalization finding a causal effect of personal experience with cannabis use. Current and past cannabis users are more in favor of legalization. We relate this finding to self-interest and inside information about potential dangers of cannabis. While the self-interest effect is not very surprising, the effect of inside information suggests that cannabis use is not as harmful as cannabis users originally thought it was before they started consuming. Our analysis suggests that as the share of cannabis users in the population increases, support for cannabis legalization will also increase

The impact of tobacco control policies on smoking initiation in eleven European countries

We investigate the effect of tobacco control policies on smoking initiation in eleven European countries. Based on individual data about age of onset of smoking, we use hazard rate models to study smoking initiation. Thus, we are able to take into account observed and unobserved personal characteristics as well as the effect of the introduction of a variety of tobacco control policies including price and and non-price policies, i.e., bans on tobacco advertisements, smoke-

Essays in health economics and labor economics

The economics literature presents a growing number of studies focusing on risky health behaviors such as tobacco use or cannabis use. One of the most important characteristics of these risky health behaviors is that they harm the users and the people around the users, causing great social and economic costs. Therefore, in this dissertation, the author focuses on research questions on tobacco and cannabis use. The first two chapters focus on tobacco use. The first chapter investigates the spousal peer effects on the decision to quit smoking in couples to see if the quit decision of one partner affects the other. The second chapter investigates the effects of early smoking on labor market performance, by paying special attention to the possible effects through educational attainment. The last two chapters focus on cannabis, or as it is called in the USA marijuana use. The third chapter investigates the effects of geographical distance to Dutch coffeeshops, retail outlets from which residents can purchase cannabis, on the starting age of cannabis use. Finally, the last chapter analyzes the determinants of the support for cannabis legalization policies to see if the personal experience with cannabis use shapes the opinions

Early Smoking, Education, and Labor Market Performance

This study investigates the effects of early smoking on educational attainment and labor market performance. The results show that early smoking adversely affects educational attainment and initial labor market performance, but only for males. The effect of early smoking on initial labor market performance is indirect through educational attainment. Moreover, for males only, early smoking has a negative effect on current labor market performance even after conditioning on education. For females neither education nor labor market performance is affected by early smoking

Love conquers all but nicotine: Spousal peer effects on the decision to quit smoking

If two partners smoke, their quit behavior may be related through correlation in unobserved individual characteristics and through common shocks. However, there may also be a causal effect whereby the quit behavior of one partner is affected by the quit decision of the other partner. If so, there is a spousal peer effect on the decision to quit smoking. We use data containing retrospective information of Dutch partnered individuals about their age of onset of smoking and their age of quitting smoking. We estimate mixed proportional hazard models of starting rates and quit rates of smoking in which we allow unobserved heterogeneity to be correlated across partners. Using a timing of events approach, we determine whether the quitting-to-smoke decision of one partner has a causal effect on the quitting-to-smoke decision of the other partner. We find no evidence of substantial spousal peer effects in the decision to quit smoking. Apparently, love conquers all but nicotine addictio

Love Conquers All but Nicotine: Spousal Peer Effects on the Decision to Quit Smoking

If two partners smoke, their quit behavior may be related through correlation in un- observed individual characteristics and common external shocks. However, there may also be a causal effect whereby the quit behavior of one partner is affected by the quit decision of the other partner. We use data on Dutch partnered individuals to study the relevance of such spousal peer effects. After controlling for common unobserved heterogeneity and common external shocks, we find that such spousal peer effects in the decision to quit smoking do not exist. Apparently, love conquers all but nicotine addiction

Love Conquers All but Nicotine:Spousal Peer Effects on the Decision to Quit Smoking

If two partners smoke, their quit behavior may be related through correlation in un- observed individual characteristics and common external shocks. However, there may also be a causal effect whereby the quit behavior of one partner is affected by the quit decision of the other partner. We use data on Dutch partnered individuals to study the relevance of such spousal peer effects. After controlling for common unobserved heterogeneity and common external shocks, we find that such spousal peer effects in the decision to quit smoking do not exist. Apparently, love conquers all but nicotine addiction

Love conquers all but nicotine: Spousal peer effects on the decision to quit smoking

If two partners smoke, their quit behavior may be related through correlation in unobserved individual characteristics and through common shocks. However, there may also be a causal effect whereby the quit behavior of one partner is affected by the quit decision of the other partner. If so, there is a spousal peer effect on the decision to quit smoking. We use data containing retrospective information of Dutch partnered individuals about their age of onset of smoking and their age of quitting smoking. We estimate mixed proportional hazard models of starting rates and quit rates of smoking in which we allow unobserved heterogeneity to be correlated across partners. Using a timing of events approach, we determine whether the quitting-to-smoke decision of one partner has a causal effect on the quitting-to-smoke decision of the other partner. We find no evidence of substantial spousal peer effects in the decision to quit smoking. Apparently, love conquers all but nicotine addictio