Opportunity for Health
@oppforhealthlab.bsky.social
We study how economic opportunity affects health, and test interventions and policies that can boost opportunity and improve health for all Americans.
opportunityforhealth.org
opportunityforhealth.org
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
In 2023, we initiated an RCT in low-income Philly neighborhoods examining how neighborhood improvements and household interventions impact #health+ wellbeing.
Today at the #IAPHS conference, Evan Spencer announced how our efforts averted >1000 crimes over 2 years (2000 w/ spillovers). MVPF=♾️.
Today at the #IAPHS conference, Evan Spencer announced how our efforts averted >1000 crimes over 2 years (2000 w/ spillovers). MVPF=♾️.
October 2, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
Proud of @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social lab predoc Ritikaa Khanna and @ncsp-penn.bsky.social fellow Michael Wang for leading this interesting paper.
There is a suble hat tip to Heckman-Vytacil in the discussion section :)
There is a suble hat tip to Heckman-Vytacil in the discussion section :)
In Medicaid, covering obesity-labeled #GLP1 receptor agonists was associated with higher obesity-labeled use, while total glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist use increased less, suggesting possible substitution across label indications. ja.ma/4xPkKxn
September 26, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Proud of @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social lab predoc Ritikaa Khanna and @ncsp-penn.bsky.social fellow Michael Wang for leading this interesting paper.
There is a suble hat tip to Heckman-Vytacil in the discussion section :)
There is a suble hat tip to Heckman-Vytacil in the discussion section :)
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
WIC benefits have notoriously low take-up for some groups. Our new study in Health Affairs led by @emilydore.bsky.social found that allowing benefits to be issued remotely during pandemic boosted take-up. www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/... @capolicylab.bsky.social @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social
September 11, 2026 at 12:43 PM
WIC benefits have notoriously low take-up for some groups. Our new study in Health Affairs led by @emilydore.bsky.social found that allowing benefits to be issued remotely during pandemic boosted take-up. www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/... @capolicylab.bsky.social @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
How does hospital strain affect racial disparities in mortality?
A novel analysis by @atheendar.bsky.social and @vinisingh.bsky.social found that as beds grew scarce, Black patients faced longer waits, less provider effort and a higher risk of death. https://bit.ly/4gxhMZ0
A novel analysis by @atheendar.bsky.social and @vinisingh.bsky.social found that as beds grew scarce, Black patients faced longer waits, less provider effort and a higher risk of death. https://bit.ly/4gxhMZ0
When Hospitals Get Busier, Black Patients Face Higher Death Risk
Resource scarcity increases discriminatory behaviors and beliefs, psychology experiments show. Now, a first-of-its-kind LDI study in the American Economic Review shows that resource discrimination…
ldi.upenn.edu
September 3, 2026 at 4:45 PM
How does hospital strain affect racial disparities in mortality?
A novel analysis by @atheendar.bsky.social and @vinisingh.bsky.social found that as beds grew scarce, Black patients faced longer waits, less provider effort and a higher risk of death. https://bit.ly/4gxhMZ0
A novel analysis by @atheendar.bsky.social and @vinisingh.bsky.social found that as beds grew scarce, Black patients faced longer waits, less provider effort and a higher risk of death. https://bit.ly/4gxhMZ0
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
Many Americans feel “stuck” in their lives. The PSC's @atheendar.bsky.social
and @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social have found it's making them sick.
Read more in his @inquirer.com op-ed:
https://bit.ly/4xgdef1
and @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social have found it's making them sick.
Read more in his @inquirer.com op-ed:
https://bit.ly/4xgdef1
Americans feel stuck -- and it's making us sick | Opinion
We've reached our 250th anniversary as a stuck country. It's more than just poverty, loneliness, or a lack of opportunity -- and it is one of the biggest threats to our public health.
www.inquirer.com
August 12, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Many Americans feel “stuck” in their lives. The PSC's @atheendar.bsky.social
and @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social have found it's making them sick.
Read more in his @inquirer.com op-ed:
https://bit.ly/4xgdef1
and @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social have found it's making them sick.
Read more in his @inquirer.com op-ed:
https://bit.ly/4xgdef1
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
Feeling “stuck” can harm health.
LDI expert and physician @atheendar.bsky.social and his team at @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social found that 1 in 5 U.S. adults feel this way.
In a new @inquirer.com op-ed, he examines this public health crisis—and what can help: https://bit.ly/4w5bRid
LDI expert and physician @atheendar.bsky.social and his team at @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social found that 1 in 5 U.S. adults feel this way.
In a new @inquirer.com op-ed, he examines this public health crisis—and what can help: https://bit.ly/4w5bRid
Americans Feel Stuck. It’s a Public Health Crisis
LDI Fellow Atheendar Venkataramani discusses why Americans feel “stuck,” how this is a threat to public health, and offers potential solutions.
ldi.upenn.edu
August 9, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Feeling “stuck” can harm health.
LDI expert and physician @atheendar.bsky.social and his team at @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social found that 1 in 5 U.S. adults feel this way.
In a new @inquirer.com op-ed, he examines this public health crisis—and what can help: https://bit.ly/4w5bRid
LDI expert and physician @atheendar.bsky.social and his team at @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social found that 1 in 5 U.S. adults feel this way.
In a new @inquirer.com op-ed, he examines this public health crisis—and what can help: https://bit.ly/4w5bRid
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
Expanding H-1B visas boosted US worker incomes and productivity, especially in non-STEM jobs, with gains flowing downstream via supply chains, from Ran Abramitzky, Leah Platt Boustan, Ahmet Gulek, and Jens Hainmueller www.nber.org/papers/w35560
August 8, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Expanding H-1B visas boosted US worker incomes and productivity, especially in non-STEM jobs, with gains flowing downstream via supply chains, from Ran Abramitzky, Leah Platt Boustan, Ahmet Gulek, and Jens Hainmueller www.nber.org/papers/w35560
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
Why do so many Americans feel “stuck”—and what does that mean for public health?
In the @inquirer.com, LDI's @atheendar.bsky.social argues that understanding economic insecurity, disability, isolation, and limited mobility is key to improving health nationwide.
https://bit.ly/4xgdef1
In the @inquirer.com, LDI's @atheendar.bsky.social argues that understanding economic insecurity, disability, isolation, and limited mobility is key to improving health nationwide.
https://bit.ly/4xgdef1
Americans feel stuck — and it’s making us sick | Opinion
We’ve reached our 250th anniversary as a stuck country. It’s more than just poverty, loneliness, or a lack of opportunity — and it is one of the biggest threats to our public health.
www.inquirer.com
August 3, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Why do so many Americans feel “stuck”—and what does that mean for public health?
In the @inquirer.com, LDI's @atheendar.bsky.social argues that understanding economic insecurity, disability, isolation, and limited mobility is key to improving health nationwide.
https://bit.ly/4xgdef1
In the @inquirer.com, LDI's @atheendar.bsky.social argues that understanding economic insecurity, disability, isolation, and limited mobility is key to improving health nationwide.
https://bit.ly/4xgdef1
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
1/ **New Op-ed**
My patients often tell me they feel #stuck and that it makes them sick. In the last few years we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social have defined and measured #stuckness and its impact on #health.
We have come to see stuckness as a unifying explanation for our country's health crisis.
My patients often tell me they feel #stuck and that it makes them sick. In the last few years we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social have defined and measured #stuckness and its impact on #health.
We have come to see stuckness as a unifying explanation for our country's health crisis.
August 4, 2026 at 5:14 PM
1/ **New Op-ed**
My patients often tell me they feel #stuck and that it makes them sick. In the last few years we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social have defined and measured #stuckness and its impact on #health.
We have come to see stuckness as a unifying explanation for our country's health crisis.
My patients often tell me they feel #stuck and that it makes them sick. In the last few years we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social have defined and measured #stuckness and its impact on #health.
We have come to see stuckness as a unifying explanation for our country's health crisis.
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
New working paper from Ritikaa Khanna, @rourkeobrien.bsky.social, @astokespop.bsky.social, @atheendar.bsky.social, & me
We apply a new lens to the great (non-Covid) debate of US mortality studies: What's up w the 2010s?
It emphasizes that US longevity worsened against a background of increasing $$
We apply a new lens to the great (non-Covid) debate of US mortality studies: What's up w the 2010s?
It emphasizes that US longevity worsened against a background of increasing $$
The U.S. Mortality Crisis as a Preston Curve Reversal
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
July 20, 2026 at 4:21 PM
New working paper from Ritikaa Khanna, @rourkeobrien.bsky.social, @astokespop.bsky.social, @atheendar.bsky.social, & me
We apply a new lens to the great (non-Covid) debate of US mortality studies: What's up w the 2010s?
It emphasizes that US longevity worsened against a background of increasing $$
We apply a new lens to the great (non-Covid) debate of US mortality studies: What's up w the 2010s?
It emphasizes that US longevity worsened against a background of increasing $$
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
Totally agree.
This is why we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social tried to measure one of the sentiments that just kept bubbling up. Feeling "stuck":
opportunityforhealth.org/project/stuc...
This is why we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social tried to measure one of the sentiments that just kept bubbling up. Feeling "stuck":
opportunityforhealth.org/project/stuc...
May 22, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Totally agree.
This is why we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social tried to measure one of the sentiments that just kept bubbling up. Feeling "stuck":
opportunityforhealth.org/project/stuc...
This is why we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social tried to measure one of the sentiments that just kept bubbling up. Feeling "stuck":
opportunityforhealth.org/project/stuc...
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
Check out the incredible video that @nerd4cities.bsky.social made on #TaxBaseFragmentation! www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF2g...
Why Tax Base Fragmentation Is a Serious Problem
YouTube video by Ray Delahanty | CityNerd
www.youtube.com
May 14, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Check out the incredible video that @nerd4cities.bsky.social made on #TaxBaseFragmentation! www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF2g...
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
1/ Today we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social are releasing our report: "Stuckness in America."
#Stuckness is a #feeling + material #reality that reinforce one another in a self-perpetuating #trap.
1 our of every 5 Americans are #stuck.
opportunityforhealth.org/project/stuc...
#Stuckness is a #feeling + material #reality that reinforce one another in a self-perpetuating #trap.
1 our of every 5 Americans are #stuck.
opportunityforhealth.org/project/stuc...
Stuckness in America – Opportunity for Health
opportunityforhealth.org
May 11, 2026 at 4:26 PM
1/ Today we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social are releasing our report: "Stuckness in America."
#Stuckness is a #feeling + material #reality that reinforce one another in a self-perpetuating #trap.
1 our of every 5 Americans are #stuck.
opportunityforhealth.org/project/stuc...
#Stuckness is a #feeling + material #reality that reinforce one another in a self-perpetuating #trap.
1 our of every 5 Americans are #stuck.
opportunityforhealth.org/project/stuc...
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
The 1850–1910 high school boom explains about one-third of rising female labor force participation. But gains bypassed Black children and favored richer families, widening racial and class gaps, from Alison Doxey, Ezra Karger, and Peter Nencka www.nber.org/papers/w35068
April 18, 2026 at 7:01 PM
The 1850–1910 high school boom explains about one-third of rising female labor force participation. But gains bypassed Black children and favored richer families, widening racial and class gaps, from Alison Doxey, Ezra Karger, and Peter Nencka www.nber.org/papers/w35068
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
🚨 Check out our brand new #website 🚨
Redesigned with fresh, easy to access summaries of our work!
Interested in our missing of "advancing $health by expanding #opportunity and #hope"?
Read on!
opportunityforhealth.org
Redesigned with fresh, easy to access summaries of our work!
Interested in our missing of "advancing $health by expanding #opportunity and #hope"?
Read on!
opportunityforhealth.org
Opportunity for Health – Evidence-based research for healthy and hopeful futures.
opportunityforhealth.org
March 26, 2026 at 12:28 PM
🚨 Check out our brand new #website 🚨
Redesigned with fresh, easy to access summaries of our work!
Interested in our missing of "advancing $health by expanding #opportunity and #hope"?
Read on!
opportunityforhealth.org
Redesigned with fresh, easy to access summaries of our work!
Interested in our missing of "advancing $health by expanding #opportunity and #hope"?
Read on!
opportunityforhealth.org
Can economic #opportunity help flatten the #income-#health gradient in the United States?
Check out our new @medrxivpreprint.bsky.social by Anant Mishra, @rourkeobrien.bsky.social, and Atheen Venkataramani!
Paper here: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Key figure:
Check out our new @medrxivpreprint.bsky.social by Anant Mishra, @rourkeobrien.bsky.social, and Atheen Venkataramani!
Paper here: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Key figure:
April 17, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Can economic #opportunity help flatten the #income-#health gradient in the United States?
Check out our new @medrxivpreprint.bsky.social by Anant Mishra, @rourkeobrien.bsky.social, and Atheen Venkataramani!
Paper here: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Key figure:
Check out our new @medrxivpreprint.bsky.social by Anant Mishra, @rourkeobrien.bsky.social, and Atheen Venkataramani!
Paper here: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Key figure:
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
Teaser: The % of working age Americans from our survey who strongly agree with the statement: "I currently feel stuck in life."
April 14, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Teaser: The % of working age Americans from our survey who strongly agree with the statement: "I currently feel stuck in life."
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
PARC AGING CHAT TODAY AT NOON!
Monday, April 6th, from 12-1 pm
“The Growing Issue of Homelessness/Housing Insecurity and Aging”
with Rebecca T. Brown & Dennis P. Culhane
HYBRID EVENT PSC Commons, McNeil 403 & Zoom (see image for login information)
Monday, April 6th, from 12-1 pm
“The Growing Issue of Homelessness/Housing Insecurity and Aging”
with Rebecca T. Brown & Dennis P. Culhane
HYBRID EVENT PSC Commons, McNeil 403 & Zoom (see image for login information)
April 6, 2026 at 12:00 PM
PARC AGING CHAT TODAY AT NOON!
Monday, April 6th, from 12-1 pm
“The Growing Issue of Homelessness/Housing Insecurity and Aging”
with Rebecca T. Brown & Dennis P. Culhane
HYBRID EVENT PSC Commons, McNeil 403 & Zoom (see image for login information)
Monday, April 6th, from 12-1 pm
“The Growing Issue of Homelessness/Housing Insecurity and Aging”
with Rebecca T. Brown & Dennis P. Culhane
HYBRID EVENT PSC Commons, McNeil 403 & Zoom (see image for login information)
🚨 Check out our brand new #website 🚨
Redesigned with fresh, easy to access summaries of our work!
Interested in our missing of "advancing $health by expanding #opportunity and #hope"?
Read on!
opportunityforhealth.org
Redesigned with fresh, easy to access summaries of our work!
Interested in our missing of "advancing $health by expanding #opportunity and #hope"?
Read on!
opportunityforhealth.org
Opportunity for Health – Evidence-based research for healthy and hopeful futures.
opportunityforhealth.org
March 26, 2026 at 12:28 PM
🚨 Check out our brand new #website 🚨
Redesigned with fresh, easy to access summaries of our work!
Interested in our missing of "advancing $health by expanding #opportunity and #hope"?
Read on!
opportunityforhealth.org
Redesigned with fresh, easy to access summaries of our work!
Interested in our missing of "advancing $health by expanding #opportunity and #hope"?
Read on!
opportunityforhealth.org
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
🚨@oppforhealthlab.bsky.social has a new website!!🚨
Fully redesigned, and full of helpful summaries of our work and associated resources.
Our mission: "Advancing health by expanding opportunity and hope."
Find out how: opportunityforhealth.org
Fully redesigned, and full of helpful summaries of our work and associated resources.
Our mission: "Advancing health by expanding opportunity and hope."
Find out how: opportunityforhealth.org
March 20, 2026 at 5:20 PM
🚨@oppforhealthlab.bsky.social has a new website!!🚨
Fully redesigned, and full of helpful summaries of our work and associated resources.
Our mission: "Advancing health by expanding opportunity and hope."
Find out how: opportunityforhealth.org
Fully redesigned, and full of helpful summaries of our work and associated resources.
Our mission: "Advancing health by expanding opportunity and hope."
Find out how: opportunityforhealth.org
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
In 1937, sulfa drugs--some of the first antibiotics--were introduced.
This lowered childhood pneumonia rates.
As a direct result, kids with access to these antibiotics...
1 stayed in school longer,
2 had higher incomes, &
3 worked more/had fewer work limiting disabilities.
Antibiotics FTW!
This lowered childhood pneumonia rates.
As a direct result, kids with access to these antibiotics...
1 stayed in school longer,
2 had higher incomes, &
3 worked more/had fewer work limiting disabilities.
Antibiotics FTW!
December 29, 2025 at 2:45 PM
In 1937, sulfa drugs--some of the first antibiotics--were introduced.
This lowered childhood pneumonia rates.
As a direct result, kids with access to these antibiotics...
1 stayed in school longer,
2 had higher incomes, &
3 worked more/had fewer work limiting disabilities.
Antibiotics FTW!
This lowered childhood pneumonia rates.
As a direct result, kids with access to these antibiotics...
1 stayed in school longer,
2 had higher incomes, &
3 worked more/had fewer work limiting disabilities.
Antibiotics FTW!
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
🚨🚨 It's new research week for me on the socials! 🚨🚨
First up, just released today as an NBER working paper:
"More Hours, More Work: Head Start Expansions Boost Maternal Employment" with fantastic coauthors Esra Kose and Maria Rosales-Rueda
www.nber.org/papers/w34831
First up, just released today as an NBER working paper:
"More Hours, More Work: Head Start Expansions Boost Maternal Employment" with fantastic coauthors Esra Kose and Maria Rosales-Rueda
www.nber.org/papers/w34831
February 17, 2026 at 1:48 AM
🚨🚨 It's new research week for me on the socials! 🚨🚨
First up, just released today as an NBER working paper:
"More Hours, More Work: Head Start Expansions Boost Maternal Employment" with fantastic coauthors Esra Kose and Maria Rosales-Rueda
www.nber.org/papers/w34831
First up, just released today as an NBER working paper:
"More Hours, More Work: Head Start Expansions Boost Maternal Employment" with fantastic coauthors Esra Kose and Maria Rosales-Rueda
www.nber.org/papers/w34831
Reposted by Opportunity for Health
Congratulations to Charles Manski on winning the BBVA Frontiers Award for his foundational contributions to partial identification, semiparametric methods, subjective expectations, social interactions and policy decision-making under uncertainty
www.premiosfronterasdelconocimiento.es/noticias/xvi...
www.premiosfronterasdelconocimiento.es/noticias/xvi...
XVIII Premio Fronteras del Conocimiento en Economía a Charles Manski
por incorporar la incertidumbre en la investigación económica y su aplicación al análisis de las políticas públicas
www.premiosfronterasdelconocimiento.es
February 25, 2026 at 10:46 AM
Congratulations to Charles Manski on winning the BBVA Frontiers Award for his foundational contributions to partial identification, semiparametric methods, subjective expectations, social interactions and policy decision-making under uncertainty
www.premiosfronterasdelconocimiento.es/noticias/xvi...
www.premiosfronterasdelconocimiento.es/noticias/xvi...
@atheendar.bsky.social was recently quoted in the @nytimes.com on infant mortality rates - a critical public health issue that had been improving for decades but recently stalled.
Check out what he says this could be attributed to: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/h...
Check out what he says this could be attributed to: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/h...
Infant Mortality Fell for Decades. Why Did That Stop?
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:10 PM
@atheendar.bsky.social was recently quoted in the @nytimes.com on infant mortality rates - a critical public health issue that had been improving for decades but recently stalled.
Check out what he says this could be attributed to: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/h...
Check out what he says this could be attributed to: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/h...