Overall level of consumer sentiment remained favorable in early March
March 20, 2017
The Current Economic Conditions component of the Surveys of Consumers, which reached it’s highest level since 2000, is not affected by partisanship, but the component about future economic prospects continues to reveal a deep partisan divide. In a conference call, Richard Curtin said,...
Helen Levy on Marketplace
March 2, 2017
PRI’s Marketplace cited Helen Levy’s study which found that Michigan’s Medicaid Expansion helped not only the 600,000 people who got health insurance, but the state’s overall economy: People 'now have Medicaid, so the clinic is getting paid more,' Levy said. 'But also the...
Consumer sentiment dipped in February
February 28, 2017
Consumer sentiment, based on the Surveys of Consumers, dipped to 96.3, down from January’s index of 98.5. It was still higher than a year ago, and higher than predicted. Richard Curtin says the Sentiment Index has been higher in the last 3 months than anytime since March 2004. However, the...
Birditt comments on new study linking stress hormone and health advantages of marriage
February 23, 2017
A new study by Brian Chin, et al. finds that marital status is a predictor of cortisol levels. In an article at Reuters, Kira Birditt commented, “This study is exciting because we know being married is associated with better health but we don’t know why this association occurs. Cortisol...
“Generational Forgetting” and Out of Fashion Drugs
February 16, 2017
Lloyd Johnston‘s term, “generational forgetting”, which describes how each generation forgets the dangers of out of fashion drugs, was cited in Vice. Richard Miech of Monitoring the Future said, “While one generation may have learned the hard way about the dangers of a...
High intensity drinking rates highest among college students
February 15, 2017
In the annual Monitoring the Future survey, about 24% of 19 and 20 year olds report drinking 5 or more alcoholic drinks on a single occasion in the last 2 weeks. High intensity drinking is defined as 10 or more drinks on a single occasion: about 10% of respondents said...
Teens, Vaping, and Future Cigarette Smoking
February 9, 2017
A new study from Monitoring the Future researchers finds that teens who have never smoked cigarettes are 4 times more likely to smoke them in the future if they vape. The results are based on 347 respondents who were initially surveyed in their senior year of high school in 2014...
Post-election consumer confidence continues to grow
February 2, 2017
Richard Curtin says, “The post-election surge in confidence was driven by a more optimistic outlook for the economy and job growth during the year ahead as well as more favorable economic prospects over the next five years…Overall, the post-election surge in consumer confidence was...
HRS Data Book
January 31, 2017
The new HRS data book, Aging in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities for Americans, has just been released.
The Health and Retirement Study is now in its 25th year. With over 3,000 publications reporting on HRS data, this book aims to synthesize some of the research these remarkable data...
Governor Snyder Cites IHPI Report in CNN Interview
January 30, 2017
In an interview with CNN, Michigan Governor Snyder cited a report from the Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation authored by Thomas Buchmueller, Helen Levy, Sayeh Nikpay, and Jordan Rhodes on the impact of Medicare expansion under the Affordable Care Act. The study shows that the amount...
