UC Berkeley

This dissertation presents three essays in applied microeconomics, studying how policy interventions and information affect health and political outcomes.In Chapter 1, “Housing First or Treatment First? Evidence from the VA’s Homelessness Programs,” I study the impact of Housing First programs, in which subsidized housing is offered unconditionally and immediately, relative to Treatment First interventions, which combine short-term housing with treatment for issues like substance use. I construct a national sample of nearly 300,000 unhoused, mentally ill Veterans potentially eligible for the VA’s Housing First program (HUD-VASH) or a Treatment First program. Using an instrumental variables design, I find that enrolling in Housing First reduces three-year mortality by 4.6 percentage points relative to a no-program counterfactual. In contrast, Treatment First has no long-term effects on health. Housing First is also cost-saving, as it causes individuals to substitute away from lengthy inpatient stays.Chapter 2, “How do mental health treatment delays impact long term mortality?,” studies how clinic congestion affects mortality for veterans experiencing mental health emergencies. I find that longer waiting times make it more likely that patients miss their follow-up mental health visit, increasing the probability that they permanently disengage from care. A one standard deviation increase in wait time between the ED visit and follow-up appointment (11.7 days) increases two-year mortality by about 1.5%.Chapter 3, “The Effect of Red Scare Propaganda on US Public Opinion: Evidence from the Newspapers of William Randolph Hearst,” examines whether anti-redistributive sentiment has long-run roots in Red Scare-era propaganda. Chapter 3, ``The Effect of Red Scare Propaganda on US Public Opinion: Evidence from the Newspapers of William Randolph Hearst,'' examines whether anti-redistributive sentiment has long-run roots in Red Scare-era propaganda. In the 1930s and 40s, the media mogul William Randolph Hearst espoused vehement anti-communist rhetoric in his newspapers. Fears of socialism went head to head with FDR’s New Deal, the first wide-scale federal spending program. Using variation in newspaper penetration across US counties, I show that a 10 percentage point increase in Hearst newspaper circulation per capita decreased support for FDR by 2.1 percentage points. These effects persist over the long run, decreasing support for public healthcare and welfare programs through the late 20th century.