Health and Healthcare Variations across the Population
Organized by Hannes Schwandt and Jevay Grooms
Supported by the National Institute on Aging
May 15, 2026
NBER, 1050 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
Thursday, May 14
6:30pm
Dinner, Royal Sonesta Hotel
Friday, May 15
8:15 am
Breakfast
8:45 am
Welcome
8:50 am

The Sweet Life: The Long-Term Effects of a Sugar-Rich Early Childhood

Paul Gertler, University of California, Berkeley and NBER
Tadeja Gracner, University of Southern California

Discussant:
Johanna Catherine Maclean, George Mason University and NBER
9:30 am

Selective Admissions in Nursing Homes: Evidence from a Randomized Audity Study

Liran Einav, Stanford University and NBER
Amy Finkelstein, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NBER
Jesse Gubb, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
Neale Mahoney, Stanford University and NBER
James Okun, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Discussant:
Douglas O. Staiger, Dartmouth College and NBER
10:10 am
Break
10:30 am

The Health Channel of Business Cycles

Pablo A. Guerrón-Quintana, Boston College
Thorston Drautzburg, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Grey Gordon, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
Alexey Khazanov, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Discussant:
Jonathan Zhang, Duke University and NBER
11:10 am
Eggtimer Presentations

Trust in Medicine and the Demand for Health Care

Charles Hanzel, Northwestern University

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Control by Education across the United States, England, and South Korea

Ralph I. Lawton, Harvard University
David M. Cutler, Harvard University and NBER

The Effect of Alcohol Sales Taxes on Off-Site Alcohol Purchases

Ana P. Milan Hinostroza, University of New Mexico

Mental Healthcare Facilities and Mortality: Evidence from Local Access and Insurance Expansion

Olanrewaju Yusuff, Georgia State University
11:55 am
Lunch
1:00 pm

Keynote
Janet Currie, Yale University and NBER
2:00 pm
Eggtimer Presentations

Broadband Internet Access and Adolescent Mental Health in the U.S.

Brandyn F. Churchill, American University and NBER
Kathryn R. Johnson, American University

Wealth and Health Across America: Two Decades of Evidence from Medicare

David Molitor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and NBER
Guilherme Amorim, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Maria Polyakova, Stanford University and NBER

Racial Segregation and Disparities Across Nursing Homes: Mechanisms, Interactions, and Policy Tradeoffs

Alden Cheng, National Bureau of Economic Research
2:40 pm
Break
3:00 pm

Political Power and Mortality: Heterogeneous Effects of the U.S. Voting Rights Act

Atheendar Venkataramani, University of Pennsylvania and NBER
Rourke O'Brien, Yale University
Elizabeth Bair, University of Pennsylvania
Christopher Lowenstein, University of Missouri - Columbia

Discussant:
TBA
3:40 pm

Family Spillovers of Dementia

Onur Altindağ, Bentley University
Jane Greve, The Danish Center for Social Science Research (VIVE)
Yulya Truskinovsky, Syracuse University and NBER

Discussant:
Kosali I. Simon, Indiana University and NBER
4:25 pm
Closing Discussion
4:30 pm
Adjourn