Teen Sex, Health Insurance Mandates, and Poutine

Hoisted from Comments: Robert Waldmann writes in from sunny Italy:

Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal: I think teen age pregnancy has a small effect on infant mortality.... [T]he raw correlation... is... that infants of teenagers are more likely to die, but teenage mothers are poorer and less likely to get prenatal care than older mothers. When controls for race, income and medical care... [are added] the teenage effect becomes small (on the order of 10% of the baseline risk). See: Arlene Geronimus (1987), "On teenage childbearing and neonatal mortality in the United States," Population & Development Review 13(2):323-334.... [T]he factor stressed by Mankiw turns out to be less important than the ones he claims are not critical when they go head to head in a regression.

You are, of course, correct that difference across developed countries in teenage fertility are not explained by differences in sexual activity (which are small: median age of first intercourse is around 16 everywhere) but rather in contraceptive use.

Of course you are much more expert than Mankiw on the first topic you discuss (sorry I really really couldn't resist). More generally, Mankiw seems to be blaming the uninsured for their lack of insurance. Odd that he is opposed to mandating insurance given that view.

With respect to Canada's ability to deliver extremely calorie-dense foods incredibly cheaply, all I can say is: Poutine!

With respect to mandates: yes. If the principal market failure in health care is indeed (as Mankiw seems to say) that people can freeload off of others and still get treated when they get sick, then mandated insurance purchase is the efficiency-maximizing road to take.

Comments

[Bloix]

"mandated insurance purchase is the efficiency-maximizing road to take"

Alternatively we could let sick people die in the street after they've been foreclosed on for failure to pay the mortgage. Isn't that the true efficiency-maximizing result? And isn't that the logical if unstated goal of the Republican program?

[andres]

Poutine: you're not going to blame Canada as a whole for something that is almost entirely a Quebecois atrocity, are you? Those stilted French speakers still think of themselves as a separate country even if they are part of Canada.

Still, every country has something like this: Britain has scones with hyper-dense heavy cream, and the US has my nemesis: Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.

[Robert Waldmann]

Oh yess Chicago style deep dish pizza mmmmm. I can't find that in Italy (and I have looked). I also miss Italian subbies which do not exist here.

[Mandos]

Poutine is awesomeness.

[macquechoux]

"then mandated insurance purchase is the efficiency-maximizing road to take."

Just about every state has mandated auto insurance. In my state the mandated policy is a dismal is 10/25 coverage. The number of uninsured is large. The number of uninsured varies by sate; however, I think it will take more than a mandate. What are you going to do with the people that refuse? Jail them? Deny health care?

[Scott Martens]

"...something that is almost entirely a Quebecois atrocity..."

Um, last time I was in Winnipeg, I think they had it at McDonald's. I know the "NY French Fries" franchise in the mall had it. To be sure, it's more Quebecois than, say, British Columbian. But it's come a long way from "almost entirely Quebecois." The real atrocities of Quebecois cuisine are serving fries or spaghetti with pizza, or baked beans and pork jowls stewed in so much maple syrup they might as well be served for dessert.

[piotr]

In Germany, they believe in chocolade.

Some prices on the lower end:

assorted 100g bars for 35c, milk chocolade and half-sweet (50% cocoa)

five 25g bars of 70% cocoa chocolade for 89c, so there is a price jump as you move from 50% to 70%

and muesli (less fat than chocolade or even granola, but check the price!):

1.29 Euro for 1000g

Corollary: you should fuel your vehicle with muesli or choclade rather than gasoline, as the cheapest fuel is 5 Euro per gallon. Gallon of yoghurt costs less here than a gallon of gas.

About real atrocities of Quebecois cousine: was it necessary? Isn't it a high brow blog that an entire family should be able to read? Would you like your 11 old daughter learn about the cruel stuff like that? Have you no shame, Steve? Honestly, graphic description of bondage is less terrifying than "baked beans and pork...".

[Insurance for Franchise]

How can your nemesis be one of the greatest things ever created on God's Green Earth? Chicago deep dish pizzas are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Unless you mean nemesis to staying thin or something like that, then I may agree.

[Kevin's Franchise Insurance]

Where are the cars that run on chocolate? It would make me sad and slightly hungry everytime I ran one, but definitely worth it.