Does ridesharing affect external-cause mortality? Evidence from U.S. Vital Statistics Data
中文摘要
已有研究表明,网约车会影响交通可达性、物质使用以及犯罪暴露。因此,网约车也可能对与这些潜在因素相关的死亡率产生实质性影响。为研究这一问题,我们使用美国国家生命统计系统的受限访问数据,考察网约车如何影响外因死亡率。我们的识别策略依赖于UberX进入美国各县在空间与时间上的变异。在18至45岁人群中,我们发现UberX进入一个地区与每季度每10万人口增加2.01例死亡相关(约增加10%)。我们发现这些死亡主要与酒精和药物使用有关。我们通过呈现事件研究、安慰剂分析、敏感性与异质性分析以及多种稳健性检验——包括对异质性处理效应稳健的双重差分估计量——为研究结果的因果解释提供支持。本研究同时考察了网约车的收益与成本,并为关注网约车对公共健康与福祉累积影响的利益相关方提供参考,从而对相关文献做出贡献。
Abstract
Existing research suggests ridesharing affects transportation access, substance use, and exposure to crime. Ridesharing may therefore also have meaningful effects on mortality related to these underlying factors. To address this issue, we use restricted-access data from the National Vital Statistics System to study how ridesharing affects mortality from external causes. Our identification strategy relies on spatial and temporal variation in UberX entry across U.S. counties. Among those aged 18 to 45, we find that UberX entry into an area is associated with 2.01 additional deaths per quarter per 100,000 population (roughly a 10% increase). We find that these deaths are primarily related to alcohol and drug use. We support a causal interpretation of our findings by presenting event studies, placebo analyses, sensitivity and heterogeneity analyses, and a variety of robustness checks, including difference-in-differences estimators that are robust to heterogeneous treatment effects. Our work contributes to the literature by addressing both the benefits and costs of ridesharing, and by informing stakeholders who are interested in the cumulative impact of ridesharing on public health and well-being.