SI 2026 Economics of Health
Organized by Abby E. Alpert, Marika Cabral, Christopher S. Carpenter, Amy Finkelstein, Atul Gupta, Petra Persson, Michael R. Richards, and Molly Schnell
July 29-30, 2026
Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA
Wednesday, July 29
8:30am
Breakfast
9:00am
Welcome and Introductions
9:20am

Thinking versus Doing: Cognitive Capacity, Decision Making and Medical Diagnosis

Benjamin R. Handel, University of California, Berkeley and NBER
Louis-Jonas Heizlsperger, University of California, Berkeley
Jonas Knecht, University of California, Berkeley
Jonathan T. Kolstad, University of California, Berkeley and NBER
Ulrike Malmendier, University of California, Berkeley and NBER
Filip Matějka, CERGE-EI
10:05am
Break
EGG TIMER SESSION
10:20am

The Early-Career Effects of Mental Illness

Kaveh Danesh, University of California, Berkeley
Arlen Guarin, The World Bank
Christian Manuel Posso-Suárez, Banco de la República de Colombia
10:30am

The Labor Market Costs of Mental Health: Evidence from Depression, Anxiety, and Self-harm

Elisa Jácome, Northwestern University and NBER
Emily Cuddy, Duke University
Ronja Helénsdotter, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
10:40am

From Payer to Provider: Impacts of Insurer Vertical Expansion into Physician Services

Jeffrey D. Marr, Brown University
Christopher M. Whaley, Brown University
Xiaoxi Zhao, RAND Corporation
10:50am

The Effects of Deleting Medical Debt from Consumer Credit Reports

Victor Duarte, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Julia Fonseca, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and NBER
Divij Kohli, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Julian Reif, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and NBER
11:00am
Break
11:30am

From Free Rider to Innovator: The Rise of China’s Drug Development

Panle Jia Barwick, University of Wisconsin - Madison and NBER
Hongyuan Xia, Cornell University
Tianli Xia, University of Rochester
12:15pm
Lunch
1:15pm

Quality in the Generic Drug Market

Emily Cuddy, Duke University
Molly Schnell, Northwestern University and NBER
2:00pm
Break
2:15pm

Housing First or Treatment First? Evidence from the VA's Homelessness Programs

Sydney Costantini, University of California, Berkeley
3:00pm
Break
3:15pm

The Consequences of Being Denied an Abortion on Women’s Physical and Mental Health

Juliana Londoño-Vélez, University of California, Los Angeles and NBER
Estefania Saravia, University of California, Los Angeles
4:00pm
Adjourn
Thursday, July 30
8:50am
Breakfast
9:20am

The Good Doctors: Cost and Mortality Effects of U.S. PCPs

Jason Abaluck, Yale University and NBER
Zachary Bleemer, Princeton University and NBER
Peter Hull, Brown University and NBER
Amanda Starc, Northwestern University and NBER
10:05am
Break
EGG TIMER SESSION
10:20am

Beyond the Battlefield: The Impact of War on Expatriates' Health and Livelihoods

Mounir Karadja, Uppsala University
Akib Khan, Stockholm School of Economics
Linna Marten, Stockholm University
10:30am

Two Inefficiencies of Self-Selection: Evidence from Health Care

Toshiaki Iizuka, The University of Tokyo
Junya Kawamura, University of Tokyo
Hitoshi Shigeoka, Simon Fraser University and NBER
10:40am

Dying Better: Hospice Care and the End of Life

Yunan Ji, Georgetown University and NBER
Edward Kong, Harvard University
Maya Roy, Harvard University
10:50am

Health Care Reform and Firm Dynamics: Evidence from Medicare Part D and the Retail Pharmacy Industry

Brandyn F. Churchill, American University and NBER
Georgina Cisneros, American University
Kelli R. Marquardt, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
11:00am
Break
11:30am

Waiting or Paying for Healthcare: Evidence from the Veterans Health Administration

Anna Russo, Harvard University
12:15pm
Lunch
1:15pm

Going for Broker? Intermediation in Health Insurance Markets

Anran Li, University of Minnesota Twin Cities and NBER
Tong Liu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Anthony T. Lo Sasso, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Nicholas Tilipman, Johns Hopkins University
2:00pm
Break
2:15pm

Fragmented Insurance and Billing Frictions: Understanding Denied Health Insurance Claims

Riley League, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and NBER
Mark Shepard, Harvard University and NBER
Myles Wagner, The Ohio State University
3:00pm
Break
3:15pm

Vertical Integration and Regulated Profits in Pharmacy Benefits Markets

Eric Yde, University of Virginia
4:00pm
Adjourn