Josh Graff Zivin

Research Interests

Professor Graff Zivin has published numerous articles on a wide range of topics in top economic, policy, and medical journals. His research spans three fields of economics – health, the environment, and international development– and focuses on how uncertainty and heterogeneity affect both individual and societal decision-making. Policy relevance serves as a guiding force behind all of this work, building upon two important and general principles. First, individuals and even large organizations generally dislike uncertainty, and will frequently go to great lengths to avoid it. Public policies that ignore this preference create unintended consequences, often falling far short of their stated goals. Second, individuals differ in their tastes and, as a result, in their responses to external stimuli. Individual heterogeneity in preferences and other characteristics challenges the notion of one-size-fits-all policies.

Specific research projects in the environmental arena have addressed corporate incentives for environmental over-compliance; use of liability rules to manage stochastic pollution problems; taxation of pollution; the use of targeted policies for achieving environmental health objectives; and occupational safety regulations. Graff Zivin’s research on health care has examined the adoption of medical technologies by risk-averse agents; medical innovation under uncertainty; health care transactions characterized by imperfect information; and individual incentives to obtain health insurance. He is currently engaged in three large and distinct projects. The first makes use of primary data collected over the past several years to examine the economic impacts of the AIDS crisis in Africa. The second relies on a unique, matched dataset to understand the role of institutions, social networks, and financial incentives in the production of new scientific knowledge within the life sciences. The third examines behavioral responses to poor air quality and its implications for the economic costs of climate change.

Research in Progress

“AIDS Treatment and Intrahousehold Resource Allocations: Children’s Nutrition and Schooling in Kenya,” (with Markus Goldstein and Harsha Thirumurthy), NBER Working Paper #12689

“Days of Haze: Environmental Information Disclosure and Intertemporal Avoidance Behavior,” (with Matt Neidell), NBER Working Paper #14271

“Superstar Extinction,” (with Pierre Azoulay and Jialan Wang), NBER Working Paper #14577

“Health Worker Absence, HIV Testing and Behavioral Change: Evidence from Western Kenya,” (with Markus Goldstein, James Habyarimana, Kiki Pop-Eleches, and Harsha Thirumurthy)

“Health Shocks and Environmental Stewardship,” (with Maria Damon)

“Incentives and Creativity: Evidence from the Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Program,” (with Pierre Azoulay and Gustavo Manso)

“Modeling Employer Decisions to Offer Health Insurance,” (with Sherry Glied)

Recent Publications

Selected Publications

Medical Technology Adoption, Uncertainty, and Irreversibilities: Is a Bird in the Hand Really Worth More than the Bush?” Health Economics, forthcoming. (with Matt Neidell)

“ARV Treatment and Time Allocation to Household Tasks: Evidence from Kenya,” African Development Review, forthcoming. (with Giovanna d’Adda, Markus Goldstein, Mabel Nangami and Harsha Thirumurthy)

“Poverty, Risk, and the Adoption of Soil Carbon Sequestration,” Environment and Development Economics, 13(2008): 353-373. (with Leslie Lipper)

“The Economic Impact of AIDS Treatment: Labor Supply in Western Kenya,” Journal of Human Resources, 43(2008): 511-552. (with Markus Goldstein and Harsha Thirumurthy)

“Bridging the Relational-Regulatory Gap: A Pragmatic Information Policy for Patient Safety and Medical Malpractice,” Vanderbilt Law Review, 59(2006): 1263-1308. (with Nathaniel Chase and William Sage)

“PublicationHarvester: An Open-Source Software Tool for Science Policy Research,” Research Policy, 35(2006): 970-974. (with Pierre Azoulay and Andrew Stellman)

“Risk Aversion, Liability Rules, and Safety,” International Review of Law and Economics, 4(2006): 604-623. (with Richard Just and David Zilberman)

“Ensuring a Safe Food Supply: The Importance of Heterogeneity,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Industrial Organization, 4(2006).

“A Modigliani-Miller Theory of Altruistic Corporate Social Responsibility,” Topics in Economic Analysis and Policy 5(2005). (with Art Small)

“Outcome versus Service Based Payments in Health Care: Lessons from African Traditional Healers,” Health Economics, 14(2005): 575-593. (with Kenneth Leonard)

“Optimizing Clinical Management of Febrile Respiratory Illnesses During a SARS Outbreak in Respiratory Season,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, 11(2005): 191-200. (with Maryam Gardam, Kamran Khan, and Peter Muennig)

“To Err on Humans is Not Benign: Incentives for Adoption of Medical Error Reporting Systems,” Journal of Health Economics, 23(2004): 935-949. (with Alex Pfaff)

“Modeling Health Insurance Expansions: Effects of Alternate Approaches,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 23(2004): 291-313. (with Sherry Glied and Dahlia Remler)

IRGN 490L Health Economics

Course Description:

This course will provide a broad overview of the field of health economics. The course will examine how standard concepts and methods in economics can be used to understand incentives and decision making in health-related transactions. It will also focus on the application of economics to health policy in both developed and developing country settings. Upon completing this course, students will be able to apply economic tools to analyze health programs and policies. Syllabus.

IRGN 490M Alternative Energy: Science and Policy

Course Description:

This course will provide a basic overview of renewable energy technologies.  This includes a high-level understanding of the science involved as well as the policy and market forces governing innovation and diffusion in the renewable technology arena.  Upon completion of the course, the students will have a broad understanding of the renewable energy sector, which will allow them to analyze how ongoing developments will affect the market viability of each technology and provide a basis from which to pursue further studies or professional interests.  Syllabus.