University of Texas at Austin sociologist and demographer Mark Hayward is the co-author on a national study that asks, “What are the kinds of laws and policies that have explicit or even indirect consequences for people’s health?” 

In the study, researchers found large discrepancies in life expectancy across states: People in states with more liberal policies were living longer lives, on average, than people in states with more conservative policies. These trends date back to the 1980s, Hayward says, and will have important implications for the upcoming election.

Read a Q&A with Hayward in Life & Letters. 
Check out the study in Milbank Quarterly.
View the policy brief by Syracuse University.  

Mark Hayward is available for phone and video interviews.