My research uses quasi-experimental methods to study how regulatory and insurance-design choices shape firm-level innovation and household treatment decisions.
Job Market Paper
Permanent Continuous Eligibility and Psychiatric Medication Channeling for Children at the Medicaid–CHIP Threshold
Sole-authored. Preparing for submission to Journal of Health Economics.
Abstract
First regression-discontinuity evidence on treatment-composition effects at the Medicaid–CHIP income threshold using the National Survey of Children’s Health (2016–2024). Crossing the threshold raises children’s psychiatric medication use by 29 percentage points without any change in uninsurance, concentrated in anxiety and depression (where therapy is clinical first-line treatment) and absent for isolated ADHD. The effect is traced across three policy regimes: pre-pandemic, FFCRA enrollment freeze, and the federal continuous-eligibility mandate.
Working Papers
Market Authorization Holder (MAH) Pilot Program and Innovation Investment in China’s Pharmaceutical Industry
With Tannista Banerjee, Aditi Sengupta, and Shan He. First and corresponding author. Preparing for submission to International Journal of Industrial Organization.
Abstract
Difference-in-differences, triple-difference, and Poisson DID on Chinese pharmaceutical patent data (2015–2021). We identify significant positive effects of the 2016 MAH deregulation on patent authorizations, backward citations, and patent claims for non-Traditional Chinese Medicine companies, with no significant effects for TCM firms.
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Co-occurring Physical–Mental Health Conditions in U.S. Children: Evidence from the National Survey of Children’s Health
With Sanket Kanekar. Preparing for submission to npj Mental Health Research (Nature Portfolio Call for Papers: Adverse Childhood Experiences).
Abstract
Most ACE studies look at mental and physical outcomes one at a time, hiding the comorbidity patterns clinicians actually see. Using the 2022–2024 National Survey of Children’s Health (N = 151,531; pooled 2017–2024 N = 318,866), we classify children into four groups — no conditions, physical only, mental only, and co-occurring — and run survey-weighted multinomial logistic regressions with a 9-item ACE score that excludes disability discrimination to avoid reverse causality.
Children with four or more ACEs show a nearly tenfold elevation in co-occurring risk (RRR = 9.77), substantially higher than mental-only (7.43) and physical-only (1.90). The Relative Excess Risk due to Interaction (RERI) is positive and significant at every ACE level, indicating that co-occurring conditions exceed what one would expect from adding physical and mental risks independently. Financial hardship and household mental illness are the ACE types most strongly tied to the co-occurring profile, with results replicating in pooled 2017–2024 data and holding across alternative outcome definitions, ACE specifications, and demographic subgroups. The findings suggest ACEs activate shared vulnerabilities spanning both health domains and that screening and treatment should address physical and mental health simultaneously.
Works in Progress
Reducing Litigation Risk and Pharmaceutical Firms’ Investment Decisions: Evidence from China’s Drug Patent Linkage System
Food Deserts and Health Outcomes: Evidence from HCUP, 2012–2022 With Ruchika Rungta.
Classifying Product versus Process Innovation in Chinese Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Patents: A Novel PatentBERT–LLM Methodology
Grant Experience
NSF HBCU-EiR — Submitted, decision pending Proposal ID: 2602827 · Budget: $1,261,433
“Economic Evaluation of AI-Powered Virtual Reality Wellness Platforms: Enhancing Accessibility, Engagement, and Cost-Effectiveness in Mental Health Support”
- PI: Dr. Sanket Kanekar (Alabama State University)
- Co-PIs: Dr. Kimberly B. Garza, Dr. Travis C. Evans (Auburn University)
- Role: Graduate Research Lead — Led proposal writing, budget development, RCT study design, and built the minimum viable product (VR environment + AI/LLM training pipeline).
Open release (coming soon): The minimum viable product will be released free and open-source on GitHub and Hugging Face. I welcome anyone to try it out and share feedback — early input from educators, clinicians, and students will directly shape the next iteration.
Planned extension. Building on this proposal, I am developing a complementary teaching tool in collaboration with the Departments of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling and Psychological Sciences at Auburn University. The goal is to help students bridge the gap between textbook knowledge and real-life practice by letting them rehearse counseling, rehabilitation, and clinical scenarios with AI-driven virtual clients in a controlled, low-stakes environment before working with real populations.
Conference Presentations
| Date | Conference | Location |
|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | Western Economic Association International (forthcoming) | Denver, CO |
| June 2026 | American Society of Health Economists (forthcoming) | Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov. 2025 | Southern Economic Association | Tampa, FL |
| June 2025 | Western Economic Association International | San Francisco, CA |
| Nov. 2024 | Southern Economic Association | Washington, DC |
| Oct. 2024 | Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) | Auburn, AL |
| Sept. 2024 | Outreach and Engaged Scholarship Symposium | Auburn, AL |