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Zarek Brot

@zarekcb.bsky.social

183 followers 121 following 22 posts

Assistant professor at University of Chicago, Harris Public Policy. Occasional raconteur at NBER/Chicago Fed. Health care policy “expert.” sites.google.com/site/zarekcb

Posts Replies Media

Zarek Brot @zarekcb.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

@gottliebecon.bsky.social, @maggieshi.bsky.social, and I are recruiting predocs through @beckerfriedman.bsky.social (for positions starting Summer 2027): job-boards.greenhouse.io/bfiprep/jobs...

job-boards.greenhouse.io

Research Professional - Health Economics Initiative (Full-Time, Benefits Eligible)

Chicago, IL

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Reposted by Zarek Brot

John Mullahy @johnmullahy.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Matthew Fiedler (Brookings) and Ben Ippolito (AEI) www.wsj.com/opinion/the-...

wsj.com

Opinion | The Higher Price Tag on Medicare Advantage

The government spends substantially more to cover a beneficiary under a Medicare Advantage plan than under a traditional plan.

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Reposted by Zarek Brot

Matt Notowidigdo @profnoto.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

The Spring 2026 Economics of Health NBER Program Meeting starts today, and it can be streamed on YouTube at the link below

nber.org

Economics of Health Program Meeting, Spring 2026

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Reposted by Zarek Brot

Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

The case against Graeberism and for Mamdanism dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...

Instead of retreating into facile cynicism about the safety net and regulatory state, people on the left should be trying to occupy the bureaucracy at the state, local, and, after the MAGA putschists are finally expelled from power, federal level—not simply because we need good people in those jobs, but because enough good people in any given department can change its internal culture for the better. A lot depends, for example, on whether state and local transportation departments are staffed by car-brained traffic engineers or planners who are genuinely invested in walkability and developing viable mass transit networks. Just as much hinges on whether state health agencies are staffed by people with a genuine commitment to the cause of universal healthcare, even in the face of brutal federal Medicaid cuts.

There’s another reason for occupying the bureaucracy, too. For a movement that wants to transform the state, there is tremendous value in understanding how policy implementation and institutional change happens on a granular level. If you spend some time working inside the bureaucracy and you keep your eyes open, you can learn a lot about the points of leverage that leftist politicians and outside advocacy groups can press to their advantage. On the flipside, you can also learn a great deal about the tradeoffs associated with certain approaches and how well-intentioned but undercooked policy initiatives can produce unintended consequences. These are all important lessons for anyone trying to push any level of government in a more humane direction. But they’re especially important lessons for leftist officials who have ambitious agendas, a finite amount of time in which to implement them, and little room for error.

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Zarek Brot @zarekcb.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

NYTimes: mobsters absolutely hate anti-racketeering enforcement! Government is using AI to crack down on a subset of crimes, mobsters are worried this could be a “slippery slope” towards using it more broadly!

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Reposted by Zarek Brot

Alex Everhart @aoeverhart.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

David Cutler popping off, my goodness jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Piece in JAMA Health Forum written by David Cutler entitled, "The Worst Piece of Health Care Legislation Ever"

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Zarek Brot @zarekcb.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

selecting on the dependent variable

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Zarek Brot @zarekcb.bsky.social · 03/10/2023

This great article by Betsy Cliff (tradeoffs.org/2023/10/03/p...) discussed our recent paper about prior auth of drugs. She makes a point I feel strongly about: PA is not ideal, but the alternatives are 1) cost sharing, which is worse; or 2) do nothing and let premiums explode, which is bad too.

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