In a recent opinion article on the Carolina Journal website, entitled Central planning fails in health care, Dr. Shishir Shakya, assistant professor of economics at Appalachian State University, was referenced in building a case on the inefficiencies of centralized healthcare planning.
A recent edition of Southern Economic Journal published a CON study by Appalachian State University economist Shishir Shakya and West Virginia University economist Christine Bretschneider-Fries. They found that “counties in states with CON laws that border counties without such laws have nearly 10% less spatial accessibility to substance-use disorder treatment facilities.”
"...Considering that we live and work in a mostly free economy..." post author John Hood concluded, "a spate of year-end stories demonstrated a prominent exception: 'Competition works. Central planning doesn’t.'"
The Research
The effect of substance use Certificate-of-Need laws on access to substance use disorder treatment facilities
We investigate how substance use Certificate-of-Need (CON) laws influence access to substance use disorder treatment facilities in the United States. We use the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Facilities data set, which lists all federal, state, and local government facilities and private facilities that provide substance use treatment services in 2020. Based on the locations of these facilities, we develop a novel access index to substance use disorder treatment facilities that accounts for driving distance and duration to measure the ease of reaching these facilities for individuals living at the population-weighted county centroids. We find that counties in states with CON laws that border counties without such laws have nearly 10% less spatial accessibility to substance use disorder treatment facilities at a 5% level of significance.
About Faculty Research in the Walker College of Business
The Walker College faculty produce and disseminate extensive research through both academic and professional communities. In the last five years, faculty have published 543 peer reviewed academic journal articles, 160 conference proceedings, and made 533 conference and professional presentations. In total, faculty have produced 1,175 intellectual contributions in the last five years. Approximately 520 intellectual contributions were made in basic or discovery research, 540 in applied or integrative research, and 115 contributions in teaching and learning research. Learn more at business.appstate.edu/research.
About the Department of Economics at Appalachian State University
The Department of Economics in Appalachian State University's Walker College of Business is an intellectually vibrant place for students and faculty. As a research-intensive department committed to student learning, the department offers a wide range of courses that provide critical thinking and problem-solving skills, complemented by student-faculty research collaboration. Our faculty members are engaged in research that contributes locally and globally to energy, environment, development, trade, health, sports, and tourism. The Department of Economics is ranked among the leading U.S. economics departments for research productivity and is particularly strong in environmental and experimental economics. Learn more at economics.appstate.edu.
Dr. Shishir Shakya
