Health Policy Research Seminar: Atheendar Venkataramani, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy and Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Title: Political Power and Population Health: Heterogeneous Effects of the U.S. Voting Rights Act

Abstract: Policies to increase political power in marginalized groups have been shown to have important impacts on health. However, these same policies may have different impacts for groups who experience a relative decline in power. We investigate the heterogeneous impacts of 1975 extension of the U.S. Voting Rights Act, which extended political power to non-white individuals. We find reductions in mortality rates for both non-white and white infants. However, for older children and adults, the relative reductions in mortality for non-white individuals are mirrored by increases for white individuals. We rule out a range of potential explanations for these unusual patterns, including changes in public spending and household economic status. Instead, we provide evidence that psychosocial mechanisms – namely., status affirmation and threat – serve as key mechanisms.

Bio: Atheendar Venkataramani is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy and a staff physician at the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Dr. Venkataramani is a health economist who studies the social and economic forces that impact health and socioeconomic inequality across the life-course. His research combines insights from economics, public health, and clinical medicine, spans both domestic and international settings. Dr. Venkataramani’s work has been published in leading academic journals and has covered widely in media outlets. More importantly, it has been cited by government agencies such as the White House, Department of Labor, and Department of Homeland Security; formed the basis of bills in Pennsylania Legislature and U.S. House and Senate; and referenced in multiple Supreme Court cases.

Dr. Venkataramani completed his MD at Washington University, his PhD in Health Policy (Economics) and Yale University, and his BS in Biology and Economics at Duke University. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine–Global Primary Care at the Massachusetts General Hospital.