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Chris Ruhm

@chrisruhm.bsky.social

1.6K followers 2.2K following 67 posts

Economics from the head and the heart.

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Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Jun 24

2/ Also, I’m trying to get the MCS (mental component summary score) through 2022 but it is only listed as being available through 2016. (AI says it should be available in later years although without full comparability to the pre-2016 data.) Any help available on this?

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Jun 24

#healtheconomics #economics

1/ I’m trying to extract a variable in MEPS for self-assessed mental health (poor, fair, good, very good, excellent) but I can’t find it on IPUMs. According to AI the name should be MNHLTH. Is it there and I’m missing it, under some other name, or not there?

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Jun 19

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/18/o...

Opinion | This Problem Is Easy to Solve

www.nytimes.com

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Jun 3

7/ I'd love to hear any thoughts on this work, as well as ideas for future research.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Jun 3

6/Finally, in the primary specifications, deteriorating mental health accounts for an estimated 9% to 29% of the rise in mortality rates among prime-age Whites in recent years.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Jun 3

5/Fourth, heterogeneity in how worsening mental distress affects mortality—rather than in mental health trends themselves—is more important in explaining Black-White disparities in its overall impact.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Jun 3

4/Third, while these correlations lend some support to the broader idea of “deaths of despair,” the specific causes comprising them appear to be both more expansive and different from those previously emphasized.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Jun 3

3/ First, mental health deteriorated from 1993-2019 for all population groups examined. Second, these declines are associated with higher predicted death rates and help explain worsening mortality trends for prime-age non-Hispanic Whites and, to a lesser extent, non-Hispanic Blacks from 1999-2019.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Jun 3

2/The main takeaway is that while declining psychological health has likely contributed to adverse mortality trends—especially among prime-age non-Hispanic Whites—its overall impact is limited and not well captured by standard definitions of “deaths of despair.”
Five findings support this conclusion

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Jun 3

1/ My article "Mental Health and Mortality Trends in the United States" has just been published by the Journal of Health Economics. You can access it for free (for a while) using the link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lCV0c7LGG...

This is a revised & renamed version of NBER Working paper no. 32978.

authors.elsevier.com

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Apr 24

My expertise is broader than I realized!

"I believe you would serve as an excellent reviewer of the manuscript, "The Use of Metaphors in Paremiological Units of English, Russian, and Kazakh Languages: A Study Based on the Thematic Group "Labor-Idleness," submitted to Forum for Linguistic Studies."

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Apr 22

No! Leave out the roadmap paragraph. It’s a waste of space.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Apr 11

Lots of great point here. I particularly agree with the idea of being upfront about the weaknesses in your approach/results. I think readers will be a lot more forgiving if you are. Also the point about revising, although it take me at least 10 drafts to get anything decent.

Cameron Patrick @cameronpat.bsky.social · Apr 11

Just been reading this great blog post by @dingdingpeng.the100.ci on accessible technical writing. Lots of good advice (some of which I knew, some was new to me) clearly laid out in one handy place!
www.the100.ci/2024/12/01/w...

Writing about technical topics in an accessible manner

A wise man – I’m quite sure it was Brian Wansink – once pointed out that it is impossible to both read and write a lot. So, maybe reading a post about how to write just steals time from the more urgen...

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Mar 12

It's good to know the extent of my economic expertise!

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Mar 1

4/

8. Leaving the planet a better place for my children and grandchildren.

Of course, many of these are human values, rather than anything particularly masculine or feminine.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Mar 1

3/

5. Recognizing the advantages I have received as a result of the circumstances of my life. And understanding that others may not have received those advantages.
6. Respecting women, LGBTQ individuals – basically everyone.
7. Protecting the environment.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Mar 1

2/

2. Showing emotions to those around us as appropriate and having the maturity to not show anger or frustration when not appropriate to do so.
3. Being thoughtful.
4. Not being overconfident. And the flip side, trying to recognize and appreciate other points of view.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Mar 1

1/ There has been lots of talk about the ideas of (toxic) masculinity coming out of those currently in power. Here is some of what masculinity means to me:

1. Protecting and supporting those who are less powerful or in need.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Mar 1

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/o...

Opinion | A Day of American Infamy

A dreadful moment for Ukraine, for the free world, for the legacy of an America that once stood for the principles of the Atlantic Charter.

www.nytimes.com

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Feb 28

I will not be buying anything today!

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Feb 26

Today was the last straw. I just cancelled my subscription to the Washington Post.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Feb 23

Me too!

George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · Feb 22

And I am an ally. If you are too, let the world know.

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Feb 23

Me too!

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Feb 15

Can anyone explain the logic behind the idea that the Trump administration will treat VAT's in other countries as tariffs? These certainly are a tax but one that doesn't affect imports differently than domestic production. Am I missing something? Or is this just an excuse for raising US tariffs?

Chris Ruhm @chrisruhm.bsky.social · Feb 4

And it doesn't end there! The CPS is down as well.