Journal of Economic Insight

The Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Rural to Urban Migration

2026-02-09T18:30:14+00:00

The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion provision allows states to expand coverage to able-bodied adults earning up to 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. Initially, only twenty-four states chose to expand Medicaid, with another fifteen states expanding coverage since 2014. Hospitals in rural areas have advocated for expansion, arguing that expansion benefits both rural Medicaid recipients and the entire community as decreased health insurance coverage makes it more difficult for providers to profitably serve their communities. This paper finds that under Medicaid expansion, rural residents are less likely to migrate to urban areas. This effect was larger for younger and more educated residents and those with children. The results hold when the sample is limited to those with private health insurance coverage, further suggesting that the impact comes through a healthcare amenity effect. Educated urban residents in expansion states are also more likely to move to rural areas.

Sex in Cinema: On the Demand for Female Nudity in Film

2026-02-09T18:30:14+00:00

Sex sells in cinema—or does it? This paper measures the impact of the usual factors that influence box office success, with a focus on the potential contributions of female nudity. In addition to making contributions to the general literature on movie revenues, we contribute to the sparse literature on nudity and revenues—and find that female nudity is only related to box office success in two genres: horror (negatively) and drama (positively). We also introduce another metric for box office success which has a significant impact on the usual dependent variables in the literature.

Ockham’s Razor and Economic Growth: How Long Can Fast Economic Growth Last?

2026-02-09T18:30:14+00:00

Economies can grow very fast, but only for so long. How long is that? Guided by Ockham’s Razor, the simplest way to answer the question is to investigate the economic performances of the past. Using GDP per capita (PPP-adjusted, 2017 USD) data from the Gapminder Foundation for 195 countries from 1800 to 2022, this study examines episodes of fast economic growth through absolute and relative growth rates, and performance across different development stages. The results suggest that maintaining high growth rates over long periods is exceedingly rare. Historically, extremely rapid growth (>8% annually) has persisted for at most 50 years, and moderately high growth (4–8% annually) for up to 70 years. Eventually, all countries converge toward lower long-run averages, typically around 1–2% annually. These historical patterns provide a transparent benchmark for understanding the limits of fast growth, especially for today’s emerging economies approaching high-income status.

Does Stake Size Matter? Testing for Differences in Involuntary Responses in High-Risk and Low-Risk Environments

2026-02-09T18:30:14+00:00

Using a laboratory experiment, we explore physiological responses to high and low-stakes to investigate how subjects react to risk and stake magnitude. Sub- jects are linked to devices measuring electrodermal activity and heart rate. Subjects are endowed with ten dollars and participate in a lottery that increases or decreases their earnings, with equal probability. There are two treatments: low stakes and high stakes. We find that heart rate is largely unaffected but skin conductance increases significantly once subjects are informed of the lottery, with the effect being larger in the high-stakes treatment. Being told the outcome of the lottery reduced skin conductance in both treatments, but not statistically significant. Our findings indicate that while stake size influences physiological arousal, the effects are modest. The results highlight the value of incorporating low-cost biometric measures into economic experiments and contribute to a better understanding of how risk shapes involuntary responses.

Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism.

2026-02-09T18:30:14+00:00

Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher Became an Icon of American Capitalism. GLORY M. LIU. Princeton University Press. 2023.

Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity

2026-02-09T18:30:14+00:00

Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity. DARON ACEMOGLU AND SIMON JOHNSON. PublicAffairs, 2023. Pp. 560, $32.00.

How Economics Explains the World: A Short History of Humanity

2026-02-09T18:30:14+00:00

How Economics Explains the World: A Short History of Humanity. ANDREW LEIGH. New York, NY: Mariner Books, 2024. Pp, 228. $26.00.