Three essays on the impacts of public policies on labor market and health outcomes

My dissertation investigates the effect of three important public policies on labor market and health outcomes. First chapter of my dissertation uses a regression discontinuity design to estimate the impact of the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws on alcohol consumption and labor market outcomes of young adults. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997 Cohort), I find that granting legal access to alcohol at age 21 leads to an increase in several measures of alcohol consumption. In particular, I document that those who are slightly older than 21 are 7 percent more likely to consume alcohol and drink 1.7 days more per month compared with those who are slightly younger than 21. This discrete jump in the alcohol consumption at age 21 has also negative spillover effects on the labor market outcomes of young adults. In particular, I document that age-21 cutoff is associated with a 1.9 hour decrease in weekly working hours. However, the effect of the minimum legal drinking age laws on wages is insignificant. These results are robust under several different parametric and non-parametric models and suggest that the policies designed to curb drinking may not only have desirable effects in reducing alcohol consumption among young adults but may also have positive spillover effects on their labor market outcomes.;The second chapter of my dissertation investigates the spillover effects of MLDA laws on smoking and marijuana use among young adults. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997 Cohort), I find some evidence that the discrete jump in alcohol consumption at age 21 has negative spillover effects on marijuana use but does not affect the smoking habits of young adults. The results indicate that although the change in alcohol consumption habits of young adults following their 21st birthday is less severe than previously known, policies that are designed to reduce drinking among young adults may have desirable impacts and can create public health benefits.;Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997 Cohort) which contains information on the exact birth date of the respondents, the third chapter of my dissertation estimates the impact of the minimum legal tobacco purchase age (MLTPA) laws on smoking and health related outcomes among young adults. The results from parametric regression discontinuity models suggest that granting legal access to cigarettes and tobacco products at the MLTPA leads to an increase in several measures of smoking participation, including up to a 8 percentage point increase in the probability of smoking and a 37 percent increase in the number of days that young adults smoke cigarettes per month. However, although the estimates from non parametric regression discontinuity models are in their expected signs, they are not significant at conventional significance levels. I also find some evidence that the smoking participation at the MLTPA is associated with a significant deterioration in self reported health status. These results imply that policies that are designed to restrict youth access to tobacco are not only effective in reducing smoking participation but also can create public health benefits through their positive spillover effects on other smoking related outcomes.