Donald Kenkel
Professor
2007
PAM

Web Bio Page

Current Activities

Current Professional Activities
Donald Kenkel has been a member of the department since 1995. His expertise is in areas of health economics and public sector economics. Most of his research is on the economics of disease prevention and health promotion.  Another area of research and teaching interest is in cost-benefit analysis of public policies, especially policies that affect health.  

Current Research Activities
Donald Kenkel is a member of a research team investigating the economics of smoking cessation. With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the NIH, the team is examining the impact of cigarette prices, tobacco control policies, and the availability of smoking cessation products on smokers' decisions to quit.  The team has also explored the role government regulation has played in markets of these products. Support from the Merck Foundation's Pharmaceutical Policy Program will allow this research to be extended to explore similar issues for a broader set of pharmaceutical products. Professor Kenkel is also beginning an NIH-funded study on the relationships between schooling, health information, and smoking decisions. 

Biography

Biographical Statement
Donald Kenkel has been a member of the department since 1995. His expertise is in areas of health economics and public sector economics. Broadly speaking, most of his research is on the economics of disease prevention and health promotion.  He is the author of the chapter on "Prevention" in the Handbook of Health Economics (2000).  He has conducted a series of studies on the economics of public health policies, including: alcohol taxes and other policies to prevent alcohol problems (Journal of Applied Econometrics 2001, American Economic Review Papers & Proceedings 2005); cigarette taxes to prevent youth smoking (Journal of Political Economy 2002); and advertising to promote smoking cessation (Journal of Regulatory Economics forthcoming 2007). Another area of research and teaching interest is in cost-benefit analysis of public policies, especially policies that affect health.  He is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Education
Ph.D. 1987 - University of Chicago, Economics M.A. 1983 - University of Chicago, Economics B.A. 1981 - University of Kentucky, Economics and Mathematics

Administrative Responsibilities
I am the Director of Graduate Studies, PAM

Courses, Websites, Pubs

Courses Taught
PAM 438 - Economics of Public Health  
PAM 692 - Health Economics II 

Publications
Kenkel, D.S.  "Prevention."  Handbook of Health Economics, AJ Culyer and JP Newhouse, editors.

Kenkel, D.S. (with J. Terza). "The Effect of Physician Advice on Alcohol Consumption: Count Data Regression with an Endogenous Treatment Effect" Journal of Applied Econometrics 16 (2001): 165-184

Kenkel, D.S. (with P. DeCicca and A. Mathios). "Putting Out the Fires: Will Higher Taxes Reduce the Onset of Youth Smoking?" Journal of Political Economy. 110 (1) (February 2002): 144-169.

"Are Alcohol Tax Hikes Fully Passed Through to Prices? Evidence from Alaska." American Economic Review Papers & Proceedings May 2005, 95 (2): 273-277.

Kenkel, D.S. (with Dean Lillard and Alan Mathios)  “The Roles of High School Completion and GED Receipt in Smoking and Obesity” . Journal of Labor Economics Special Issue in Honor of Mark Berger 24 (3): 635-660. (2006). Also NBER Working Paper 11990, January 2006.

“WTP- and QALY-Based Approaches to Valuing Health for Policy: Common Ground and Disputed Territory,” Environmental and Resource Economics Special Issue. 34: 419-437 (2006).

Kenkel, D.S. with Rosemary Avery, Dean Lillard, and Alan Mathios). “Regulating Advertisements: The Case of Smoking Cessation Products” (Journal of Regulatory Economics (forthcoming). Also NBER Working Paper 12001, January 2006.