arXiv subjects

Marica Valente

Publications and source records attributed to Marica Valente.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

The Cost of Influence: How Gifts to Physicians Shape Prescriptions and Drug Costs

This paper studies how gifts - monetary or in-kind payments - from drug firms to physicians in the US affect prescriptions and drug costs. We estimate heterogeneous treatment effects by combining physician-level data on antidiabetic prescriptions and payments with causal inference and machine learning methods. We find that payments cause physicians to prescribe more brand drugs, resulting in a cost increase of $30 per dollar received. Responses differ widely across physicians, and are primarily explained by variation in patients' out-of-pocket costs. A gift ban is estimated to decrease drug costs by 3-4%. Taken together, these novel findings reveal how payments shape prescription choices and drive up costs.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2022

Policy evaluation of waste pricing programs using heterogeneous causal effect estimation

Using machine learning methods in a quasi-experimental setting, I study the heterogeneous effects of introducing waste prices - unit prices on household unsorted waste disposal on - waste demands, municipal costs and pollution. Using a unique panel of Italian municipalities with large variation in prices and observables, I show that waste demands are nonlinear. I find evidence of constant elasticities at low prices, and increasing elasticities at high prices driven by income effects and waste habits before policy. The policy reduces waste management costs and pollution in all municipalities after three years of adoption, when prices cause significant waste avoidance.

econ.GN↗