iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson

Julian Reif @julianreif.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I'm glad AJHE is owned by ASHEcon. All econ societies should own their own journals if possible. Giving up control is a bad idea.

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Reposted by Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson

Stephanie Wang @sweiwang.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

🚨Elsevier forces out Games and Economic Behavior (GEB) Editor, entire editorial board has resigned, current board only handling new submissions until Nov. 14 #econsky

Dear Advisory Editor of GEB
We are very sorry to be the bearers of bad news for GEB.
I learned from Elsevier on Wednesday July 28 that, contrary to my expressed willingness to continue, my 3-year contract will not be renewed.
"Moving towards a closer alignment with Elsevier strategic priorities and publishing policies" was offered as the motive for this decision. Requests for explanations, first by me, then in a collective letter by the other six Editors, were dismissed by Elsevier which simply reaffirmed its legal power to make such decisions.
Elsevier then started precipitously its own search for new Editors without input of the Editorial Board.
By Friday August 14 all seven Editors have sent their resignation, requiring a 3-month advance notice.
Therefore, we will continue to manage as before the papers currently under review and the new submissions until Saturday November 14. After this date we will only complete the evaluation of papers still waiting an editorial decision.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Happy to have joined the team at Health Affairs for a podcast: How Inflation Skewed State Health Care Spending Targets youtu.be/1-gptEVnEf4?...

youtu.be

How Inflation Skewed State Health Care Spending Targets

YouTube video by Health Affairs

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Grateful to Kyle Hyndman & Alberto Bisin for attempting to replicate a famous Ariely paper on deadlines. New study: beneficial effect of deadlines does not replicate. Data from the original paper seem to have a complicated story. Updating my behavioral econ syllabus... doi.org/10.1177/0956...

doi.org

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Nine states now set targets for how fast health care spending should grow. Since 2021, most have missed them. My new paper in Health Affairs finds that a large part of that story is due to inflation.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Should you pay $500 in premiums to lower your deductible by $250? While classic models say never do this, our new AEJ: Micro paper shows buying a dominated plan can make sense for liquidity constrained people.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

I'm looking forward to discussing how Massachusetts' healthcare spending has grown relative to the economy at today's Health Policy Commission meeting.

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MA Health Policy Commission @masshpc.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Today, the HPC was proud to join the twentieth anniversary of health care reform in Massachusetts celebration hosted by the @healthconnector.bsky.social. Read HPC Executive Director David Seltz’s statement on the reform milestone: masshpc.gov/news/press-r...

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Just posted! We're hiring for a full time lecturer in analytics/econometrics at BU Questrom for this coming fall. Apply ASAP at academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31942

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Proud to have "Nonbinary Gender Economics" out in JPE Micro. We document the economic experiences and preferences of nonbinary individuals—a population of 1M+ in the US that is often overlooked.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Hearing testimony today on Massachusetts's Health Care Cost Growth Benchmark.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Proud to have "Nonbinary Gender Economics" out in JPE Micro. We document the economic experiences and preferences of nonbinary individuals—a population of 1M+ in the US that is often overlooked.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

The decline in ACA marketplace enrollment after the end of the enhanced subsidies is troubling. It is not just that people are having more difficulty affording insurance-- who leaves the market also affects how well the market works. www.wsj.com/health/healt...

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

This administration is using healthcare fraud- a real policy concern- as a fig leaf to target political enemies. An administration that repeatedly lies and violates the law and Constitution shouldn't be trusted with unchecked power to arbitrarily pull funding without due process.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Medicare Part B spends over $40 billion on physician-administered drugs. Our new study, forthcoming in the Journal of Public Economics, finds that the program's payment formula slows drug price growth over time.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Come work with me! I'm hiring for a post-doc position with expertise in health economics, to work on projects about healthcare markets and organizational form. Apply at academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31702

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Most insurance claim denials are for admin reasons. The Boston Globe quotes me: "the number of administrative denials is surprising because administrative problems should be solvable.... software could prescreen claims to flag simple problems and catch incomplete claims before they are submitted.”

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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 15/12/2025

Wash Post, CBS News, next CNN?, etc are not money makers. The owners give the Trumpists what they want and get favorable treatment for their other businesses in exchange. Owners make money that way. The regime wants quiescence. No one in this exchange cares if the outlets have audience or profits.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

I’m thrilled to share that BU Questrom is launching a PhD program in Business Economics, in collaboration with BU’s Department of Economics. Our goal is to prepare students to do high-impact research setting them up for academic careers. Read a Q&A here: practicingeconomist.com/boston-unive...

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Catastrophic coverage is "really designed for someone who has access to a large amount of financial assets or credit, and could cover about $9,000 in healthcare spending as an individual or $18,000 as a family" -Keith Ericson www.newsweek.com/health-cover...

newsweek.com

Health coverage expanding for Americans from November 1

Access to catastrophic health coverage is set to be broadened ahead of a projected soar in health insurance premiums.

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Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Nearly all PhDs take 5 years--with finishing in 4 a rare outcome. This is deliberately designed to eliminate the international powerhouse that is US postgraduate training.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Full resignation letter from Demetre C. Daskalakis, a CDC leader, does not hold back. "The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud."

My resignation letter from CDC.

Dear Dr. Houry,

I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business. I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested.

This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough.

While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people. This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles.

The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people. The data analyses that supported this decision have never been shared with CDC despite my respectful requests to HHS and other leadership. This lack of meaningful engagement was further compounded by a “frequently asked questions” document written to support the Secretary’s directive that was circulated by HHS without input from CDC subject matter experts and that cited studies that did not support the conclusions that were attributed to these authors. Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people.

It is untenable to serve in an organization that is not afforded the opportunity to discuss decisions of scientific and public health importance released under the moniker of CDC. The lack of communication by HHS and other CDC political leadership that culminates in social media posts announcing major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense. Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function. Some examples include the announcement of the change in the COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant people, the firing of scientists from ACIP by X post and an op-ed rather than direct communication with these valuable experts, the announcement of new ACIP members by X before onboarding and vetting have completed, and the release of term of reference for an ACIP workgroup that ignored all feedback from career staff at CDC.

Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults. Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc.

I have always been first to challenge scientific and public health dogma in my career and was excited by the opportunity to do so again. I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to brief the Secretary about key topics such as measles, avian influenza, and the highly coordinated approach to the respiratory virus season. Such briefings would allow exchange of ideas and a shared path to support the vision of “Making America Healthy Again.” We are seven months into the new administration, and no CDC subject matter expert from my Center has ever briefed the Secretary. I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us. Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources. At a hearing, Secretary Kennedy said that Americans should not take medical advice from him. To the contrary, an appropriately briefed and inquisitive Secretary should be a source of health information for the people he serves. As it stands now, I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information.

The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer. I believe in nutrition and exercise. I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability. Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun.

The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud. I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur. I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed.

For decades, I have been a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community when it comes to critical health topics. I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity as part of my decision.

Public health is not merely about the health of the individual, but it is about the health of the community, the nation, the world. The nation’s health security is at risk and is in the hands of people focusing on ideological self-interest.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration that I have been afforded during my time at the CDC. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated professionals who are committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation even when under attack from within both physically and psychologically.

Thank you once again for the support and guidance I have received from you and previous CDC leadership throughout my tenure. I wish the CDC continued success in its vital mission and that HHS reverse its dangerous course to dismantle public health as a practice and as an institution. If they continue the current path, they risk our personal well-being and the security of the United States.

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John Mullahy @johnmullahy.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

"The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/h...

nytimes.com

Medicare Will Require Prior Approval for Certain Procedures

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Reducing Administrative Barriers Increases Take-Up of Subsidized Health Insurance Coverage: Evidence from a Field Experiment url:https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article-abstract/doi/10.1162/rest_a_01573/128264/Reducing-Administrative-Barriers-Increases-Take-Up

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

🚨 Rethinking Moral Hazard: Moral hazard in health insurance—the increased spending that comes when you get insured—is usually seen as wasteful due to insurance’s price distortion. This paper challenges that view.

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

I am proud of economist and Stanford President Jonathan Levin for speaking out in defense of liberty. Let's see more universities follow suit! "Harvard’s objections... are rooted in the American tradition of liberty, a tradition essential to our country’s universities, and worth defending".

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

Reducing administrative burdens helps people access support. If the govt already knows the answer to the question, why make you fill it out? www.nber.org/papers/w30885

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NBER @nber.org · 09/04/2025

With liquidity constraints, moral hazard can be welfare-enhancing. Revisiting the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment finds Medicaid is twice as valuable if living hand-to-mouth, from Keith Marzilli Ericson, Johannes G. Jaspersen, and Justin R. Sydnor www.nber.org/papers/w33648

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Felipe A. Araujo @felipeaaraujo.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

From time to time I read a paper so clear and full of insight that I know immediately it will change the way I see a topic. This is one of them.

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Aaron Schwartz @aschwartz.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

I'm very much looking forward to reading this and incorporating it into my teaching. Income effects and liquidity constraints helps clarify the Nyman (1999) insight about the welfare effects of financing "unaffordable" health care. And there are simple graphs!

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

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Aaron Schwartz @aschwartz.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Dr. Feyman is a talented health policy researcher with an impressive track record. I'm confident whatever institution hires him next will be better for it. scholar.google.com/citations?us...

scholar.google.com

Yevgeniy Feyman

‪Boston University School of Public Health, Manhattan Institute‬ - ‪‪Cited by 705‬‬ - ‪Health economics‬ - ‪health policy‬ - ‪market design‬ - ‪competition‬

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

"Evil is unspectacular and always human, And shares our bed and eats at our own table."-- W.H. Auden

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Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson @profericson.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

My public comment opposing the proposed changes eliminating the X gender marker on passports. practicingeconomist.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...

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Adam Sacarny @asacarny.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

Another NIH dementia grant cancelled because it involves trans people. I’m struck by the words “Privileged, confidential, pre-decisional”. When I worked for the fed gov’t we put that at the top of *draft* materials so they were not subject to FOIA. Why is NIH terminating grants with this language?

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