Advancing Equity? Evidence from Healthcare, Labor Markets, Energy Policy, and State Governance

Session Submission Type: Student Research Panel

Abstract

Equity has become a central concern across policy domains, yet the mechanisms through which institutions promote or hinder equitable outcomes remain contested. This panel brings together four studies that investigate how demographic factors, policy interventions, and organizational environments affect disparities in health, economic opportunity, technology adoption, and public governance. Using novel administrative data and rigorous empirical methods, the papers examine whether diverse medical training environments improve care for minority patients, how determinants of maternal wages vary across the earnings distribution, whether targeted electric-vehicle incentives expand adoption among underserved populations, and what drives the proliferation of anti-DEI legislation across U.S. states. Collectively, the papers offer insights into the challenges and possibilities of advancing equity through policy design and institutional change.

Policy Area

• Social Equity and Race

Chair

• Afsana Alam, University of Massachusetts Boston

Discussant

• Charity P. Scott, Virginia Commonwealth University

Individual Presentations

• Does Who You Train With Matter? Evidence from Medical Training and Patient Outcomes - Presenting Author: Jana Abou Hjaily, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Mardoche Ayitchehou, University of Pittsburgh

• Do LMI Incentives Shift EV Adoption? Evidence from Connecticut’s CHEAPR and a national policy-scan. - Presenting Author: Snehal Kale, Georgia Institute of Technology

• Dollars and Division: Fiscal Impacts and Social Factors of Anti-DEI Bills in the U.S. - Presenting Author: Hexiong HE Yang, University of Macau

• Heterogeneity in Maternal Earnings After Childbirth by Age, Race and Ethnicity, Education, and Marital Status - Presenting Author: Memuna Aslam, Oregon State University; Non-Presenting Co-Author: David Rothwell, Oregon State University