Full Citation

Title: Do Public Health Departments Improve Population Health? The Impact of City-level Health Departments over 1916-1933

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2020

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DOI: 10.18128/MPC2020-11

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Abstract: Over the early twentieth century, urban centers across the United States adopted full-time public health departments. Using an event-study design, we show that opening full-time administration had no impact on mortality (all-cause, infant, by-cause). Then, we use city financial records to explain why health departments were ineffective. First, cities with and without health departments had comparable spending on public health. Second, per capita expenditures (and per capita expenditures interacted with a health department) correlate with infant mortality reductions. While urban public health administration as a bureaucratic apparatus appears unnecessary, public health system funding may be more meaningful for local health.

Url: https://doi.org/10.18128/MPC2020-11

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Hoehn-Velasco, Lauren; Wrigley-Field, Elizabeth

Series Title: MPC Working Paper Series

Publication Number: 2020-11

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Fertility and Mortality, Health, Population Health and Health Systems

Countries: United States