The Journal of Human Resources is a leading journal in empirical microeconomics, with a focus on policy-relevant research.
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ALT Providers, Places, and Children’s Mental Health Care Gabriel Swagel Published online before print August 07, 2026, jhr.0925-14511R1; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0925-14511R1 Abstract Children’s mental health is the defining public health crisis of our time. Using the largest repository of private insurance claims in the United States, I provide the first systematic quantification of the variation in children’s mental health prescribing in the U.S. I separate variation due to 1) primary care provider (PCP) prescribing intensities, 2) regional practice environments, and 3) child health and demand. Equalizing PCP intensities would reduce the variance of provider prescribing rates by 50 percent for ADHD and 65 percent for antidepressants. Analyzing geographic variation alone significantly understates the extent of treatment variation and the role of providers.
ALT Understanding Gender Match Effects in Higher Education The Role of Class Size Stephan Maurer, Guido Schwerdt and Simon Wiederhold Published online before print April 08, 2026, 0224-13406R1; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0224-13406R1 Abstract It is widely believed that female students perform better when taught by female professors. However, little is known about the mechanisms explaining these gender match effects. Using administrative records from a German public university, which cover all programs and courses between 2006 and 2018, we show that gender match effects are sizable in smaller classes, but are absent in larger classes. These results suggest that direct and frequent interactions between students and professors are crucial for gender match effects to emerge. In contrast, the mere fact that one’s professor is female is not sufficient to increase performance of female students.
ALT Do More Tourists Promote Local Employment? Libertad González and Tetyana Surovtseva We analyze the impact of tourist flows on local labor markets, following a novel identification strategy that uses temporary shocks in alternative international destinations to instrument for tourism flows across Spanish regions. We find that a one standard deviation increase in tourist inflows leads to a 1 percentage-point increase in employment in the tourism industry and in other services, but it does not increase total employment, labor force participation, or wages in local economies. Instead, the positive impact on services is compensated by a fall in employment in other industries, most notably manufacturing.
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