Prof Keith Marzilli Ericson
@profericson.bsky.social
Professor, Boston University Questrom School of Business. Applied micro, health and behavioral economics.
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...
October 21, 2025 at 2:08 PM
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...
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
April 10, 2025 at 7:22 PM
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
Result: Not all insurance-induced spending is inefficient. We separate efficient moral hazard (beneficial spending because people can implicitly finance their costs) from inefficient moral hazard (distortions due to lower prices).
April 7, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Result: Not all insurance-induced spending is inefficient. We separate efficient moral hazard (beneficial spending because people can implicitly finance their costs) from inefficient moral hazard (distortions due to lower prices).
🚨 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.
April 7, 2025 at 3:21 PM
🚨 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.
My public comment opposing the proposed changes eliminating the X gender marker on passports. practicingeconomist.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...
March 18, 2025 at 5:35 PM
My public comment opposing the proposed changes eliminating the X gender marker on passports. practicingeconomist.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...
I'm here! www.nber.org/papers/w32222
November 11, 2024 at 9:12 PM
I'm here! www.nber.org/papers/w32222
I'm a liberal, and I find so much inspiration in the sacred texts of my religion (and those of others). These excerpts from Isaiah 24 remind me that God has walked with people through far worse calamities.
November 7, 2024 at 2:31 AM
I'm a liberal, and I find so much inspiration in the sacred texts of my religion (and those of others). These excerpts from Isaiah 24 remind me that God has walked with people through far worse calamities.
Delighted to be speaking at the behavioral IO conference in Frankfurt about "What do shareholders want? Consumer welfare and the objective of the firm."
September 4, 2024 at 8:05 PM
Delighted to be speaking at the behavioral IO conference in Frankfurt about "What do shareholders want? Consumer welfare and the objective of the firm."
Postdoc position available at BU Questrom in Business Economics and Analytics! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/27668
May 21, 2024 at 5:14 PM
Postdoc position available at BU Questrom in Business Economics and Analytics! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/27668
What is the university for? By the great Marilynne Robinson. (Ignore the headline.) harpers.org/archive/2016...
May 14, 2024 at 9:49 PM
What is the university for? By the great Marilynne Robinson. (Ignore the headline.) harpers.org/archive/2016...
Totality in VT! Awe inspiring!
April 9, 2024 at 1:12 AM
Totality in VT! Awe inspiring!
Celebrating 50 years of the BU Questrom Health Sector Management program at dinner tonight!
April 4, 2024 at 11:34 PM
Celebrating 50 years of the BU Questrom Health Sector Management program at dinner tonight!
What an engaging visit to the Emory economics department, talking about What Do Shareholders Want: Consumer Welfare and the Objective of the Firm! Thank you Evan Saltzman and Ian McCarthy for hosting.
April 3, 2024 at 12:42 AM
What an engaging visit to the Emory economics department, talking about What Do Shareholders Want: Consumer Welfare and the Objective of the Firm! Thank you Evan Saltzman and Ian McCarthy for hosting.
Today’s result #1: Non-binary individuals have lower self-assertion (an index of competitiveness, self-efficacy, willingness to negotiate, and avoiding non-promotable tasks) than men or women.
March 11, 2024 at 6:05 PM
Today’s result #1: Non-binary individuals have lower self-assertion (an index of competitiveness, self-efficacy, willingness to negotiate, and avoiding non-promotable tasks) than men or women.
Non-binary population: Pronouns are typically they/them. 50%+ identified as non-binary for 5+ years. About 1/3 don’t share their identity with coworkers. Non-binary participants report more discrimination than either men or women.
March 11, 2024 at 6:04 PM
Non-binary population: Pronouns are typically they/them. 50%+ identified as non-binary for 5+ years. About 1/3 don’t share their identity with coworkers. Non-binary participants report more discrimination than either men or women.
Simple model: lower prices, sell more, no first-order profit loss to lower prices when you start at the profit-maximizing price. However, many people seem to think of lower prices as simply a transfer from firms to consumers, ignoring potential efficiency gains.
January 23, 2024 at 6:02 PM
Simple model: lower prices, sell more, no first-order profit loss to lower prices when you start at the profit-maximizing price. However, many people seem to think of lower prices as simply a transfer from firms to consumers, ignoring potential efficiency gains.
Unscientific twitter poll: Non-economists seem to underestimate how much consumers gain from lower prices.
Representative sample in my NBER WP "What Do Shareholders Want...": 40% of people don't see an efficiency gain from lowering price markups. nber.org/papers/w32064
Representative sample in my NBER WP "What Do Shareholders Want...": 40% of people don't see an efficiency gain from lowering price markups. nber.org/papers/w32064
January 23, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Unscientific twitter poll: Non-economists seem to underestimate how much consumers gain from lower prices.
Representative sample in my NBER WP "What Do Shareholders Want...": 40% of people don't see an efficiency gain from lowering price markups. nber.org/papers/w32064
Representative sample in my NBER WP "What Do Shareholders Want...": 40% of people don't see an efficiency gain from lowering price markups. nber.org/papers/w32064
Firms have a unique technology for benefiting consumers: lowering prices that are marked up over cost. Economists know a lot about optimal price setting! 3/n
January 22, 2024 at 11:47 AM
Firms have a unique technology for benefiting consumers: lowering prices that are marked up over cost. Economists know a lot about optimal price setting! 3/n
Merry Christmas!
December 26, 2023 at 12:09 AM
Merry Christmas!
Today's feature NBER working paper...
November 20, 2023 at 3:42 PM
Today's feature NBER working paper...