Peng, LinBobby, Liv2026-07-072026-07-072026-04-09https://theses-dissertations.princeton.edu/handle/88435/dsp01v405sd86pGLP-1 Receptor Agonists, represent a significant development in pharmaceuticals, with diverse treatment applications and high cross-industry effects. This paper presents an empirical assessment of the cross-sector economic and public health consequences of the “hype” surrounding this drug class. By developing two complementary hypotheses, I aim to examine how GLP-1 related events have propagated through financial markets and whether expanded Medicaid coverage access to these drugs for weight loss has resulted in measurable improvements in population health. My first hypothesis employs an event study framework to assess cumulative abnormal returns for Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, a broader pharmaceutical portfolio, and a portfolio of “junk” food and beverage firms surrounding identified GLP-1 events. The second hypothesis uses a difference-in-differences framework to estimate the impact of state Medicaid GLP-1 coverage decisions on population level BMI outcomes. The top two GLP-1 producers, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, are found to earn positive cumulative abnormal returns relative to food and beverage stocks, particularly over wider event windows and display suggestive evidence of market anticipation dynamics surrounding FDA approval events. The estimated impacts on population level BMI outcomes are statistically in- distinguishable from zero across almost all specifications, though the directionality is consistently negative, corresponding with lower BMI outcomes. Most plausibly, this reflects an insufficient post-treatment window giving that Medicaid coverage for weight loss only meaningfully scaled in 2023-2024. Though the data was somewhat limited by the recency of the GLP-1 phenomenon, this study provides an early empirical baseline of the financial and public health consequences of this revolutionary drug class, which is critical to reflect on as financial markets continue to respond to innovations and healthcare coverage changesen-USPrinceton University Senior Theses