Overview
Kosali Simon is a health economist at Indiana University (O'Neill School). Her research spans health insurance, prescription drug use, and the effects of Social Security income on health outcomes among the elderly. She co-authored the seminal use of the Social Security Benefits Notch to instrument for unearned income, finding no causal effect of SS income on elderly weight.
Key Contributions / Features
- SS income and weight (Cawley, Moran, and Simon 2009): Social Security Notch IV shows no effect of permanent income increases on BMI or obesity among elderly Americans — ruling out income as a driver of elderly obesity.
- SS income and prescription drugs (Moran and Simon 2006, Journal of Human Resources): Same Notch instrument shows higher SS income does increase prescription drug use among elderly — evidence that income matters for medication adherence even when it doesn't affect weight.
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