Atheendar Venkataramani

Atheendar Venkataramani

@atheendar.bsky.social

Physician and health economist at Penn. I study opportunity, hope, and health @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social. Personal website: https://sites.google.com/site/atheendar/

5.6K followers1K following859 posts

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Population Aging Research Center
@pennaging.bsky.social

When Hospitals Get Busier, Black Patients Face Higher Death Risk https://ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/research-updates/when-hospitals-get-busier-black-patients-face-higher-death-risk @pennldi.bsky.social discusses “Rationing by Race” co-authored/ @atheendar.bsky.social http://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20240701

ldi.upenn.eduWhen Hospitals Get Busier, Black Patients Face Higher Death RiskResource scarcity increases discriminatory behaviors and beliefs, psychology experiments show. Now, a first-of-its-kind LDI study in the American Economic Review shows that resource discrimination…

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Michael L. Barnett
@mlbarnett.bsky.social

Replying to @mlbarnett.bsky.social

Second, we explore in a piece on @statnews.com about what this result and the broader evidence means. I've come to the uncomfortable realization that the largest public health turnaround in decades may have little to do with what I thought was important. www.statnews.com/2026/10/23/o...

statnews.comOverdose deaths have plunged. We need to know whyThe humbling truth is that forces outside medical care and public health policies must be playing the biggest role in a dramatic drop in opioid overdose deaths, three health experts write.

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Brown University School of Public Health
@brownpublichealth.bsky.social

“There are big questions about why opioid overdose mortality rates are falling nationally,” says Dr. @mlbarnett.bsky.social. “A lot of people think that increased use of the overdose reversal agent #naloxone is a big reason. This study changes the narrative and says we have to look to other causes.”

brown.eduFewer overdoses, not increased naloxone use, may help explain decline in U.S. overdose deathsResearchers found that naloxone use did not increase relative to the number of overdoses as deaths have fallen since 2023, suggesting that other factors may be driving the national decline in overdose deaths.
Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

I'm not so sure about this claim. Yes estimates are not "statistically significant" (esp with Bonferoni). But all of point estimates negative. Also scaling them by potential change in tylenol use during recall allows for large negative effects (i.e., less tylenol = less ADHD, autism)!

NBER@nber.org

The 1982 Tylenol recall, which likely reduced acetaminophen use in pregnant women and fetal exposure, was not associated with changes in autism or ADHD among affected cohorts, from Christopher M. Worsham, Charles Bray, Joshua Rothman, Brian Kwan, and Anupam Jena www.nber.org/papers/w35873

Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

I think link between tylenol use during in utero period and autism is unlikely. But this natural experiment doesn't prove that. Natural experiments can be useful, but lack of power and external validity are real impediments to their usefulness Let me know if I am reading this incorrectly!

Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

Hi #medsky #econsky! I have an interesting problem. RCT: both units and timing of entry into study randomized. Need a staggered adoption estimator. Problem: cluster S.E.s in new estimators are over-conservative. See www.nber.org/papers/w24963 How've you dealt w this? Has welfare implications!

nber.orgDesign-based Analysis in Difference-In-Differences Settings with Staggered AdoptionFounded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Penn LDI
@pennldi.bsky.social

🏆 Congratulations to LDI’s Scott Halpern and Paula Chatterjee on receiving awards from @acpimphysicians.bsky.social! Recognized for their contributions to behavioral medicine & internal medicine, their work advances research and policy to improve health care. Read more: https://bit.ly/4i79WEZ

ldi.upenn.eduScott Halpern and Paula Chatterjee Win American College of Physicians AwardsLDI Senior Fellows and Perelman School of Medicine physicians Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, and Paula Chatterjee, MD, MPH, have won 2026-27 American College of Physicians (ACP) awards

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Brendan Greeley
@bhgreeley.bsky.social

People are saying it's a very good book www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/634502...

penguinrandomhouse.comThe Almighty Dollar by Brendan Greeley: 9780593138885 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: BooksIn this ambitious and groundbreaking history of the dollar, financial journalist and economic scholar Brendan Greeley makes a new argument about the origins of our money—and the people and nations...
Toby Nangle@tobyn.bsky.social

After reading @bhgreeley.bsky.social’s book ‘The Almighty Dollar’, found myself unable to pass up purchase of a silver Bavarian Thaler

Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

The best #doctors know how to quantify, manage, and deal with #uncertainty. For the average or bad doc, AI can help with uncertainty -- but only to a point. AI trained on all the data we give it (whatever ends up being measured, with whatever spin and bias we throw in there). It has blind spots.

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Zeke Emanuel, MD, PhD
@zekeemanuel.bsky.social

My daughter Natalia Emanuel and her co-author Emma Harrington have spent years studying how remote work impacts productivity and creativity. I am proud that her new book “In Person” comes out today, making the evidence-based case for why proximity matters at work.

Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

Messed up. The backslide continues. Hopefully we can stop it in the midterms.

The Associated Press@apnews.com

BREAKING: Federal agents searched Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar's home as part of a criminal investigation, AP sources say.

bit.lyFederal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar's home as part of a criminal investigation, AP sources sayFederal agents have searched Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home as part of a criminal investigation. That's according to people familiar with the matter.
Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

Would love to see an #economics #Nobel that recognizes one of these questions: "Do we really know what we know and how do we deal with related uncertainty?" "What are the drivers of well-being?" Rooting for Chuck Manski, Janet Currie tomorrow.

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

John Mullahy
@johnmullahy.bsky.social

"They use optical sensors to detect blood pulsing through your veins, and machine-learning models to analyze the data to estimate blood pressure. Like sleep staging, it’s an inference, not a direct measurement." www.wsj.com/health/welln...

wsj.comCan Wearables Really Track Blood Pressure Without the Cuff? I Tested Them.Health trackers can now alert you to shifts you can’t feel. Doctors warn the data might give you anxiety—or a false sense of security.

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Michael Clemens
@mclem.org

The simple truth is that the president's personal obsession with attacking @drlisadcook.bsky.social is a filthy lie. There must be not just protection for her job, but accountability for those perverting and corrupting our justice system. All Americans lose when our institutions are poisoned.

nbcnews.comLisa Cook's bank documents appear to contradict Trump administration's mortgage fraud allegationsPresident Donald Trump is seeking to remove Cook, a Federal Reserve board member, over claims that she falsified financial forms regarding a secondary home.
Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social

BREAKING Politico: Trump has just established a committee of inquiry to investigate whether Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook made "false statements in connection with one or more mortgage instruments" — his latest effort to remove her from the central bank.

politico.comTrump sets up committee to investigate, potentially remove the Fed's Lisa Cook“As President, it is my job to ensure the laws are faithfully executed, including by firing subordinates who cannot be trusted to tell the truth and follow the law,” he wrote in a memo.
Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

The administrations obsession with punishing Lisa Cook is absurd and frightening. It's not even about winning in this case. It's about creating fear and exerting control. Horrible, horrible look for America. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/b...

nytimes.comTrump Announces White House Inquiry Into Fed Governor Lisa CookPresident Trump said the White House would investigate unsubstantiated claims that Lisa D. Cook committed mortgage fraud and hold a hearing next month.

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

VoxDev
@voxdev.bsky.social

Experiments in Uganda reveal that employers and workers prefer to share income through paid work rather than cash, even when the work produces nothing, suggesting that some overstaffing reflects social support rather than inefficiency.

VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social

🆕 Work over cash: Why employers and workers prefer jobs to handouts Today on VoxDev, Elisa Macchi (@brown.edu) & @jeremiastalder.bsky.social (University of St. Gallen) outline evidence on Uganda: voxdev.org/topic/labour...

voxdev.orgWork over cash: Why employers and workers prefer jobs to handoutsExperiments in Uganda reveal that employers and workers prefer to share income through paid work rather than cash, even when the work produces nothing, suggesting that some overstaffing reflects socia...

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Harsha Thirumurthy
@hthirumurthy.bsky.social

Summary below with results from 3-year study in Kenya assessing whether savings interventions can strengthen economic prospects for the future and also reduce engagement in behaviors that increase HIV/STI risk. Our results are extremely promising!

Dean Yang@deanyang.bsky.social

Can a savings account reduce heavy drinking? In a randomized trial with 1,500 men in western Kenya, a savings program cut hazardous drinking by 26% and intimate partner violence by 15%. New NBER working paper 🧵

Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

Fascinating paper @hthirumurthy.bsky.social and team!!! The possibility of a bright future motivates. The possibility of a dim one does the opposite. Something I see all the time in the clinic and hospital.

Dean Yang@deanyang.bsky.social

Can a savings account reduce heavy drinking? In a randomized trial with 1,500 men in western Kenya, a savings program cut hazardous drinking by 26% and intimate partner violence by 15%. New NBER working paper 🧵

Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

In 2023, we initiated an RCT in low-income Philly neighborhoods examining how neighborhood improvements and household interventions impact #health+ wellbeing. Today at the #IAPHS conference, Evan Spencer announced how our efforts averted >1000 crimes over 2 years (2000 w/ spillovers). MVPF=♾️.

Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

More to come on cluster-level hospitalizations, ED visits, as well as individual-level survey-based outcomes (where there is a very interesting pattern of attrition that reflects the success of the program more than a nuisance!).

Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

If you are interested in learning more about what we are finding, checking out this recent interview of Aditi Vasan and myself by the NYC Family Policy Project: familypolicynyc.org/2013/07/01/a...

familypolicynyc.orgNew Study Finds That Neighborhood Improvements and Economic Supports Can Improve Child and Family Well-Being and Reduce Crime: Atheen Venkataramani and Aditi Vasan, University of Pennsylvania - NYC Fa...“Our takeaway is really about the importance of investing in communities in a way that makes people feel cared for—in terms of what their environment looks and feels like—and gives them agency and aut...

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Zach Parolin
@zparolin.bsky.social

"The housing shortage in the United States not only drives up rents, it is also a significant driver of poverty." The New York Times summarizes my collaboration Pew, which quantifies how high housing costs lead to higher poverty rates for 10 U.S. states. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/r...

nytimes.comWhere High Rents Drive People Into PovertyA new study identified 10 locations where higher-than-average housing costs have impacted poverty the most.

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

NBER
@nber.org

Guideline and physician performance in atrial fibrillation depend on how bleeding harms vary across patients; robust treatment rules can perform well across plausible harm assumptions, from @jabaluck, @LeilaEcon, and David C. Chan Jr www.nber.org/papers/w35798

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

Proud of @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social lab predoc Ritikaa Khanna and @ncsp-penn.bsky.social fellow Michael Wang for leading this interesting paper. There is a suble hat tip to Heckman-Vytacil in the discussion section :)

JAMA Health Forum@jamahealthforum.com

In Medicaid, covering obesity-labeled #GLP1 receptor agonists was associated with higher obesity-labeled use, while total glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist use increased less, suggesting possible substitution across label indications. ja.ma/4xPkKxn

Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

Proud of @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social lab predoc Ritikaa Khanna and @ncsp-penn.bsky.social fellow Michael Wang for leading this interesting paper. There is a suble hat tip to Heckman-Vytacil in the discussion section :)

JAMA Health Forum@jamahealthforum.com

In Medicaid, covering obesity-labeled #GLP1 receptor agonists was associated with higher obesity-labeled use, while total glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist use increased less, suggesting possible substitution across label indications. ja.ma/4xPkKxn

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

JAMA Health Forum
@jamahealthforum.com

In Medicaid, covering obesity-labeled #GLP1 receptor agonists was associated with higher obesity-labeled use, while total glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist use increased less, suggesting possible substitution across label indications. ja.ma/4xPkKxn

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

AEA Journals
@aeajournals.bsky.social

Roughly one in three women experiences intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. We spoke with Manisha Shah of @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social about the drivers of IPV and policies for reducing it. #econsky www.aeaweb.org/research/int...

aeaweb.orgViolence against womenManisha Shah discusses the factors that drive intimate partner violence and the impact of policies aimed at reducing it in low- and middle-income countries.

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Population Studies Center
@pennpsc.bsky.social

Many Americans feel “stuck” in their lives. The PSC's @atheendar.bsky.social and @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social have found it's making them sick. Read more in his @inquirer.com op-ed: https://bit.ly/4xgdef1

inquirer.comAmericans feel stuck -- and it's making us sick | OpinionWe've reached our 250th anniversary as a stuck country. It's more than just poverty, loneliness, or a lack of opportunity -- and it is one of the biggest threats to our public health.
Atheendar Venkataramani
@atheendar.bsky.social

I've been toiling on a book in my spare time for over a year. I wrote it all myself, but worried that my liberal use of em-dashes would make people think my text was AI generated. Luckily, my writing is so idiosyncratic that this happened.

Atheendar Venkataramani reposted

Michael L. Barnett
@mlbarnett.bsky.social

this is outrageous

Bob Herman@bobjherman.bsky.social

MedPAC has consistently reported overpayments in Medicare Advantage. Health insurance companies want to kneecap how MedPAC reports these overpayments. Now, insurers have allies in Congress: Republicans, John Wilkerson reports. www.statnews.com/2026/09/16/m...

statnews.comGOP aims to change Medicare adviser’s math so it's more favorable to health insurersThe GOP bill directs MedPAC to study the topic of overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans in a manner that’s more favorable to insurers.