Dr. Donahoe is a health economist whose research focuses on how public policies can reduce harm stemming from addictive substance use. He uses applied economic theory, state-of-the-art econometric methods, and large and novel datasets to provide new insights about this topic. During his PhD training, he was the recipient of an R36 Health Services Research Dissertation Award to study markets for prescription and illicit opioids and their role in the US opioid crisis. His dissertation chapter, which examined the effects of enforcement against physicians, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical distribution facilities that supplied prescription opioids without adequate controls to prevent diversion, was selected for the American Society of Health Economists’ Student Paper Award in 2023, which recognizes the student paper that made the greatest contribution to the field of health economics.
Dr. Donahoe is a native of West Virginia. In his free time, he enjoys pursuing the incredible outdoor recreational activities available in the Appalachian Region.
Education & Training
- BBA, Marshall University, 2016
- MPH, University of Michigan, 2018
- PhD, Harvard University, 2023
Representative Publications
Donahoe JT. Supplier enforcement and the opioid crisis. (submitted)
This paper examines the effects of enforcement actions targeting prescribers, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical distribution facilities that supply prescription opioids without adequate controls to prevent diversion on local opioid supply and mortality. It finds these interventions had large and negative effects on local opioid supply and reduced overall drug mortality rates when interventions were large enough.
Donahoe JT, Norton EC, Elliott MR, Titus AR, Kalousova L, Fleischer NL. The Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion and smoking cessation among low-income smokers. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2019; 57(6):e203-e210.
This paper studies the effects of the increased insurance coverage for smoking cessation medications on smoking quit attempts and successful smoking cessation.
Donahoe JT, Titus AR, Fleischer NL. Key factors inhibiting legislative progress toward smoke-free coverage in Appalachia. American Journal of Public Health. 2015; 108(3):372-378.
This paper documents and examines large geographic disparities in laws banning smoking in public places, with fewer laws in Appalachian areas compared to non-Appalachian areas of the US.
Click here for a more complete bibliography of Dr. Donahoe’s works.
Research Interests
- Addiction
- Harmful substance use
- Drug policy
- Health equity