If two partnered individuals both smoke, the decision of one of them to quit smoking may lead the other to quit smoking as well. Spousal peer effects on quit-smoking behavior are interesting from policy point of view because if they exists anti-smoking policies get ‘two for the price of one’. Therefore, Ali Palali from Tilburg University investigates in his dissertation the spousal peer effects on the decision to quit smoking in couples to see if the quit decision of one partner affects the other. The results show however that there are no spousal peer effects.

Ali Palali focuses in his dissertation on research questions on tobacco and cannabis use. The economics literature presents a growing number of studies focusing on risky health behaviors such as tobacco use or cannabis use. One of the most important characteristics of these risky health behaviors is that they harm the users and the people around the users, causing great social and economic costs.

In a second study he investigates the effects of geographical distance to Dutch coffeeshops, retail outlets from which residents can purchase cannabis, on the starting age of cannabis use. Empirical analysis indicates that distance matters. Palali found that for a cohort of individuals born between 1974 and 1992, distance has a negative effect on the starting rate of cannabis use. Youngsters living closer to cannabis-shops are more likely to start using cannabis earlier on.

Ali Palali (Adana, Turkey, 1987) obtained his Bachelor degree in Economics at Bogaziçi University in Istanbul in 2010. He obtained his MSc degree in Economics at Tilburg University in 2012 and started working as a Ph.D. student in the same year.

Source: Tilburg University