Current Professional Activities Dr. Tennyson's professional interests center on economic and policy
issues in financial markets. She is a noted
expert on consumer protection regulation in insurance markets, automobile insurance regulation and insurance fraud, and is a frequent
speaker on these topics in public policy venues.She has published widely in economics,
insurance and finance journals and in prestigious edited collections. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Risk and Insurance and the Journal of Insurance Regulation, and is a Research Fellow at Networks Financial Institute.
Current Research Activities The design and impact of consumer protection regulation in insurance markets; insurance bad faith liability; automobile insurance regulation; consumers' use of information in insurance and prescription drug markets; law and economics of women's rights.
Biography
Biographical Statement Sharon Tennyson is Associate Professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University with a specialization in industrial organization and public policy. Her research focuses on the impact of laws and of government regulation on insurance firms, consumers and markets; the organization of insurance markets; and consumer behavior in insurance transactions. Her work has been published in economics, insurance, law and finance journals and in prestigious edited collections, and she has received funding from a variety of sources including the National Science Foundation. Dr. Tennyson serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Risk and Insurance and the Journal of Insurance Regulation and is a former President of the Risk Theory Society. Before coming to Cornell Dr. Tennyson served on the faculty of the Department of Insurance and Risk Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Education Ph.D., Economics, Northwestern University B.A., Economics, UCLA
Keywords Economic Policy, Government Regulations, Insurance, Financial Services
Courses, Websites, Pubs
Courses Taught PAM 3400 - Economics of Consumer Policy PAM 3440 - Regulating Financial Institutions PAM 3240 - Risk Management and Policy PAM 6400 - Consumers, Information and Regulation
Selected Publications
"The Law and Economics of First Party Insurance Bad Faith Liability," with William J. Warfel, Connecticut Insurance Law Journal Vol. 15, No. 1, 2010.
“State Prescription Drug Policies, Cost Barriers and the Use of Acute Care Services by Medicaid Beneficiaries,” with Hae Kyung Yang, Journal of Consumer Affairs Vol. 43, No. 1, 2009.
“Moral, Social and Economic Dimensions of Insurance Claims Fraud,” Social Research Vol 75, No. 4, 2008.
“Automobile Insurance Regulation: The Massachusetts Experience,” with Laureen Regan and Mary A. Weiss, in J. David Cummins, ed., Deregulating Property-Liability Insurance: Restoring Competition and Increasing Market Efficiency, Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute-Brookings Institution Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, 2002. [chapter]
“Insurance Distribution Systems,” with Laureen Regan, in Georges Dionne, ed., Handbook of Insurance, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.