Donald Kenkel
Professor
2009
PAMWeb Bio Page
Current Activities
Current Professional Activities
Donald Kenkel has been a member of the department since 1995. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Current Research Activities
Donald Kenkel's current research includes studies of the economics of smoking, the impact of cigarette and food advertising, and direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical products. He is conducting two NIH-funded studies on: the impact of cigarette price search behavior on the incidence of cigarette taxes; and the impact of restaurant smoking bans on smokers' and nonsmokers' restaurant-going behavior.
Biography
Biographical Statement
Donald Kenkel's 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, Journal of Health Economics 2008); and advertising to promote smoking cessation (Journal of Political Economy 2007). Another area of research and teaching interest is in cost-benefit analysis of public policies, especially policies that affect health.
Education
Ph.D. 1987 - University of Chicago, Economics M.A. 1983 - University of Chicago, Economics B.A. 1981 - University of Kentucky, Economics and Mathematics
Keywords
health economics, public health, tobacco control, cost-benefit analysis
Courses, Websites, Pubs
Courses Taught
PAM 4380 - Economics of Public Health
PAM 6920 - Health Economics II
Selected Publications
Kenkel, D.S. (2000) "Prevention." Handbook of Health Economics, AJ Culyer and JP Newhouse, editors.
DeCicca, P, D.S. Kenkel, and and A. Mathios (2002). "Putting Out the Fires: Will Higher Taxes Reduce the Onset of Youth Smoking?" Journal of Political Economy. 110 (1): 144-169. [abstract]
"Kenkel, D.S. (2005). "Are Alcohol Tax Hikes Fully Passed Through to Prices? Evidence from Alaska." American Economic Review Papers & Proceedings 95 (2): 273-277. [Link to paper info]
Kenkel, D.S., D. Lillard, and A. Mathios (2006). “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. [abstract]
Avery, R.J., D.S. Kenkel, D.Lillard, and A. Mathios (2007). “Private Profits and Public Health: Does Advertising Smoking Cessation Products Encourage Smokers to Quit?” Journal of Political Economy 115 (3): 447-481. [abstract]
DeCicca, P., D.S. Kenkel, and A. Mathios. (2008). "Cigarette Taxes and the Transition from Youth to Adult Smoking: Smoking Initiation, Cessation, and Participation." Journal of Health Economics 27 (4): 904-917. [abstract]