Is Uber Good (or Bad) for Your Health? (Freakonomics, M.D. Ep. 14)

December 2, 2021 @ 11:00pm

When you need a ride to the hospital, who should you call? Bapu talks with economist David Slusky about how ridesharing services are increasingly replacing ambulances. Plus, an unexpected reason why rideshares may lead some people to unhealthy behaviors.

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Relevant Research & References

Here’s where you can learn more about the people and ideas in this episode:

SOURCES

David Slusky, professor of economics at the University of Kansas.
Loren Adler, associate director of the University of Southern California-Brookings Shaffer Initiative for Health Policy.
Michael Anderson, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley.
Keith Telster, professor of economics at Georgia State University.

RESOURCES

“Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part I Interim Final Rule with Comment Period,” by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (2021).
“Uber and Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities,” by Michael L. Anderson and Lucas W. Davis (NBER Working Papers, 2021).
“Do Ridesharing Services Increase Alcohol Consumption?” by Keith Teltser, Conor Lennon, and Jacob Burgdorf (Journal of Health Economics, 2021).
“Departmental Guidance on Valuation of a Statistical Life in Economic Analysis,” by the U.S. Department of Transportation (2021).
“Did UberX Reduce Ambulance Volume?” by Leon Moskatel and David Slusky (Journal of Health Economics, 2019).
“The Value of a Statistical Life,” by Thomas J. Kniesner and W. Kip Viscusi (Vanderbilt Law Research Paper, 2019).

EXTRAS

Tags: Bapu Jena, David Slusky, Jessica Wapner, Keith Teltser, Loren Adler, Michael Anderson, Ridesharing, Uber