Screening and Selection: The Case of Mammograms
American Economic Review
vol. 110,
no. 12, December 2020
(pp. 3836-70)
Abstract
We analyze selection into screening in the context of recommendations that breast cancer screening start at age 40. Combining medical claims with a clinical oncology model, we document that compliers with the recommendation are less likely to have cancer than younger women who select into screening or women who never screen. We show this selection is quantitatively important: shifting the recommendation from age 40 to 45 results in three times as many deaths if compliers were randomly selected than under the estimated patterns of selection. The results highlight the importance of considering characteristics of compliers when making and designing recommendations.Citation
Einav, Liran, Amy Finkelstein, Tamar Oostrom, Abigail Ostriker, and Heidi Williams. 2020. "Screening and Selection: The Case of Mammograms." American Economic Review, 110 (12): 3836-70. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20191191Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination