Principal Investigator Jeffrey Harris
Co-investigators Amy Finkelstein , Jonathan Gruber
Another specialized area that is of growing interest in public policy debate is health economics. This field is also of independent interest because of the many unique features of the health care marketplace. Jeffrey Harris, who holds an M.D. as well as a Ph.D. in economics, works on the economics of health issues ranging from smoking to AIDS. Amy Finkelstein is studying the impact of insurance design on the health economy, including the important role the introduction of the Medicare program in the 1960s played in driving health care cost increases. Jonathan Gruber studies labor markets, health insurance, and government health policy. He has studied the economic effects of Medicaid reforms in the 1980s and 1990s and the effect of the tax code on the provision of health insurance.