Geography and Health: Exploring Rural-Urban Disparities
Organized by Alee Lockman and Sarah Miller
Supported by the National Institute on Aging
June 8, 2026
NBER, 1050 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
Format: Questions will be taken during each presentation
Monday, June 8
8:30 am
Continental Breakfast
9:00 am

The Consequences of Hospital Crowding: Evidence from Texas

Laura Dague, Texas A&M University and NBER
Tiffany Radcliff, Texas A&M University
Benjamin D. Ukert, Texas A&M University
9:30 am

Optimal Provision of Hospital Obstetric Units: Welfare, Health, and Geographic Disparities

Thomas Yu, Yale University
10:00 am

Health IT Diffusion and Physician Density

Jianjing Lin, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Lucy Xiaolu Wang, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Jason U. Huh, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
10:30 am
Break
10:50 am

Market Size and Trade in Medical Services

Jonathan I. Dingel, Columbia University and NBER
Joshua D. Gottlieb, The University of Chicago and NBER
Maya Lozinski, Massachusetts General Hospital
Pauline Mourot, Boston University
11:20 am

Defining Markets Flexibly across Space: An Application to Physician Shortages

Xuyang Xia, Duke University
Yuci Zhou, Princeton University
11:50 am

Market Size and the Returns to Surgeon Volume: Evidence from Joint Replacements

Dante J. Domenella, Stanford University
12:20 pm
Lunch
1:20 pm

Panel Discussion: Challenges and Changes for Rural Health Systems
2:20 pm
Break
2:40 pm

From Storefronts to Screens: The Impacts of Online Grocery Shopping on Public Food Assistance Users

Kelsey B. Pukelis, Harvard University
3:10 pm

Demographic Divergence: The Legacy of the Opioid Epidemic

Carolina Arteaga, University of Toronto and NBER
Victoria Barone, University of Notre Dame and NBER
Stephen Claassen, University of Toronto
3:40 pm

Health Care Reform and Firm Dynamics: Evidence from Medicare Part D and the Retail Pharmacy Industry

Brandyn F. Churchill, American University and NBER
Georgina Cisneros, American University
Kelli R. Marquardt, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
4:10 pm
Concluding Remarks
4:15 pm
Adjourn