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We use comprehensive administrative data from Rhode Island to measure the impact of early-life interventions for low birth weight newborns. Our analysis relies on a regression discontinuity design based on the 1,500 g threshold for Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) status. We find that threshold crossing causes more intense in-hospital care, in line with prior studies. In terms of later-life outcomes, we show that threshold crossing causes a 0.34 standard deviation increase in test scores in elementary and middle school, a 17.1 percentage point increase in the probability of college enrollment, and a $66,997 decrease in social program expenditures by age 14.

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Misuse of prescription opioids is a leading cause of premature death in the United States. We use state government administrative data and machine learning methods to examine whether the risk of future opioid dependence, abuse, or poisoning can be predicted in advance of an initial opioid prescription. Our models accurately predict these outcomes and identify particular prior nonopioid prescriptions, medical history, incarceration, and demographics as strong predictors. Using our estimates, we simulate a hypothetical policy which restricts new opioid prescriptions to only those with low predicted risk. The policy's potential benefits likely outweigh costs across demographic subgroups, even for lenient definitions of "high risk." Our findings suggest new avenues for prevention using state administrative data, which could aid providers in making better, data-informed decisions when weighing the medical benefits of opioid therapy against the risks.

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Two competing explanations for why consumers have trouble with financial decisions are gaining momentum. One is that people are financially illiterate since they lack understanding of simple economic concepts and cannot carry out computations such as computing compound interest, which could cause them to make suboptimal financial decisions. A second is that impatience or present-bias might explain suboptimal financial decisions. That is, some people persistently choose immediate gratification instead of taking advantage of larger long-term payoffs. We use experimental evidence from Chile to explore how these factors appear related to poor financial decisions. Our results show that our measure of impatience is a strong predictor of wealth and investment in health. Financial literacy is also correlated with wealth though it appears to be a weaker predictor of sensitivity to framing in investment decisions. Policymakers interested in enhancing retirement wellbeing would do well to consider the importance of both factors.

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This paper explores whether private markets can incentivize environmental stewardship. We examine the consumer response to the 2010 BP oil spill and test how BP's investment in the 2000-2008 "Beyond Petroleum" green advertising campaign affected this response. We find evidence consistent with consumer punishment: BP station margins and volumes declined by 2.9 cents per gallon and 4.2 percent, respectively, in the month after the spill. However, pre-spill advertising significantly dampened the price response, and may have reduced brand switching by BP stations. These results indicate that firms may have incentives to engage in green advertising without investments in environmental stewardship.

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OBJECTIVE: To examine pharmacy students' ownership of, use of, and preference for using a mobile device in a practice setting. METHODS: Eighty-one pharmacy students were recruited and completed a pretest that collected information about their demographics and mobile devices and also had them rank the iPhone, iPad mini, and iPad for preferred use in a pharmacy practice setting. Students used the 3 devices to perform pharmacy practice-related tasks and then completed a posttest to again rank the devices for preferred use in a pharmacy practice setting. RESULTS: The iPhone was the most commonly owned mobile device (59.3% of students), and the iPad mini was the least commonly owned (18.5%). About 70% of the students used their mobile devices at least once a week in a pharmacy practice setting. The iPhone was the most commonly used device in a practice setting (46.9% of students), and the iPod Touch was the least commonly used device (1.2%). The iPad mini was the most preferred device for use in a pharmacy practice setting prior to performing pharmacy practice-related tasks (49.4% of students), and was preferred by significantly more students after performing the tasks (70.4%). CONCLUSION: Pharmacy students commonly use their mobile devices in pharmacy practice settings and most selected the iPad mini as the preferred device for use in a practice setting even though it was the device owned by the fewest students.

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We study the impact of a public school choice lottery in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools on college enrollment and degree completion. We find a significant overall increase in college attainment among lottery winners who attend their first choice school. Using rich administrative data on peers, teachers, course offerings and other inputs, we show that the impacts of choice are strongly predicted by gains on several measures of school quality. Gains in attainment are concentrated among girls. Girls respond to attending a better school with higher grades and increases in college-preparatory course-taking, while boys do not.

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In this article we review the literature on financial literacy, financial education, and consumer financial outcomes. We consider how financial literacy is measured in the current literature, and examine how well the existing literature addresses whether financial education improves financial literacy or personal financial outcomes. We discuss the extent to which a competitive market provides incentives for firms to educate consumers or offer products that facilitate informed choice. We review the literature on alternative policies to improve financial outcomes, and compare the evidence to evidence on the efficacy and cost of financial education. Finally, we discuss directions for future research.

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We formulate a test of the fungibility of money based on parallel shifts in the prices of different quality grades of a commodity. We embed the test in a discrete-choice model of product quality choice and estimate the model using panel microdata on gasoline purchases. We find that when gasoline prices rise consumers substitute to lower octane gasoline, to an extent that cannot be explained by income effects. Across a wide range of specifications, we consistently reject the null hypothesis that households treat "gas money" as fungible with other income. We compare the empirical fit of three psychological models of decision-making. A simple model of category budgeting fits the data well, with models of loss aversion and salience both capturing important features of the time series.