Ben Brewer

Education

PhD, University of New Hampshire

Ben Brewer is an associate professor of economics. He teaches courses across the realm of applied microeconomics including principles of microeconomics, managerial economics, the economics of public policy, health economics, sports economics & finance and econometrics.

Research Interests

• Health economics and public economics including the unintended consequences of safety legislation like primary seat belt laws
• Impact of elderly income tax breaks on economic growth
• Labor market impact of large-scale rule changes within the NFL and MLB

Publications

“Protecting the Vulnerable or Ripe for Reform? State Income Tax Breaks for the Elderly – Then & Now”, (with Karen Smith Conway and Jonathan C. Rork), Public Finance Review, 45(4), July 2017, pp. 564-94.

“Click It or Give It: Increased Seat Belt Law Enforcement and Organ Donation”, Health Economics, 29(11), November 2020, pp. 1400-21.

“A Replication of ‘The Robust Relationship between Taxes and U.S. State Income Growth’ (National Tax Journal, 2008),” (with Karen Smith Conway and Jonathan C. Rork), Public Finance Review, 49(3), May 2021, pp. 464-87.

“Do State Income Tax Breaks for the Elderly Affect Economic Growth?”, (with Karen Smith Conway and Jonathan C. Rork), Contemporary Economic Policy, January 2022, pp. 7-27.

“US Health Expenditures, GDP and Health Policy Reforms: Evidence from End of Sample Structural Break Tests”, (with Karen Smith Conway, Deniz Ozabaci and Robert Woodward), Eastern Economic Journal, 48(4), October 2022, pp. 451-87.

“Is There Racial Bias in the Enforcement of Primary Seat Belt Laws? Evidence from Veil of Darkness Tests”, The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 23(3), July 2023, pp. 807-819.