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Showing posts from May, 2022

Why the American Healthcare System Needs Economists

It's no secret that the US healthcare system is a complex web of interconnected -- and sometimes contrasting -- objectives designed to both protect and profit off of American citizens. It's messy, and it's uninviting. Now, I'm aware that there is no "one size fits all" solution to the complexities of the US healthcare system, as it spans over 50 different states, each with their own laws and policies. It involves individuals, providers, healthcare firms, insurance companies, medical professionals, government policymakers, policy recipients, supply chains, international trade of pharmaceuticals and equipment, national funding, and the list goes on and on. Bottom line? It's complex, inefficient, and expensive.  Over the years, I've been trained to think like an economist, and I'd love nothing more than to offer my two cents on the healthcare system that we've currently got in place. As a quick overview, I simply want to discuss the system as what

Thesis: The Hometown Effect -- Quantifying the Power of Place

I wrote this economics thesis during my final year of undergrad in the spring of 2022. In the paper, I discuss and analyze the widespread opportunity atlas research; that the location of where an individual grows up has a lasting effect on their future economic prosperity. I specifically analyze the difference in outcomes between urban, suburban, and rural counties. There's a lot of information in here, but if it's something you're interested in, I suggest you give it a read! Additionally, check out Raj Chetty's interactive visual dataset known as the  opportunity atlas . You can toggle with the filters and explore the levels of wealth and poverty throughout the 50 United States, and see if you are beating the odds of the county that you grew up in!