Benjamin B. Lockwood

For information about my research, please visit my personal website.

BEPP 6110 (previously MGEC 611): Microeconomics for Managers: Foundations (MBA)

BEPP 6120 (previously MGEC 612): Microeconomics for Managers: Advanced Applications (MBA)

BEPP 9330: Public Economics (PhD)

Past Courses

• BEPP2990 - Independent Study

• BEPP6110 - Microeconomis for Managers

  This course will cover the economic foundations of business strategy and decision-making in market environments with other strategic actors and less than full information, as well as advanced pricing strategies. Topics include oligopoly models of market competition, creation, and protection, sophisticated pricing strategies for consumers with different valuations or consumers who buy multiple units (e.g. price discrimination, bundling, two-part tariffs), strategies for managing risk and making decisions under uncertainty, asymmetric information and its consequences for markets, and finally moral hazard and principle-agent theory with application to incentive contacts.

• BEPP9110 - Empirical Public Policy

  This course examines econometric research on a variety of topics related to public policy, with the goal of preparing students to undertake academic-caliber research. The course is not an econometrics or statistics course per se; rather, it focuses on research designs with observational data and how econometric techniques are applied in practice. The course aims to train students to do applied economic research that involves measuring effects of theoretical or practical interest. It proceeds in two major parts. The first part examines endogeneity and inference about causal relationships, instrumental variables methods and critiques, and panel data methods. The second part of the course addresses 'structural' econometric modeling. Topics covered in this part include sorting and selection, entry models, and counterfactual analyses of policy changes. The course proceeds by analyzing, in detail, approximately 24 well-known empirical research papers in applied economics or related fields. These include public economics and tax policy, labor economics, law and economics, health care policy, industrial organization and competition, transportation demand and policy, and others.

• BEPP9330 - Public Econ: Social Ins

  The first part of this course will examine the rationale for and economic impact (e.g. on saving, labor supply, etc.) of social insurance programs such as social security, unemployment insurance and disability insurance. The next major part of the course will explore these same issues for government interventions in health insurance markets. The course will then cover research on public goods, externalities, fiscal federalism, and econmic stimulus (including the government's recent response to the "Great Recession") before proceeding to an exploration of the government's role in K-12 and high education. Both theoretical and empirical evidence will be covered along with a mix of classic studies and more cutting-edge research. Throughout the course we will discuss the tradoffs - for example between the protection and distortion of social insurance programs -- that influence government's optional role. While the focus will be on evidence from the U.S., some research from other industrialized and developing countries will also be covered.

• National Tax Association Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, 2016
• Roger Martin Award for Excellence in Doctoral Research in Business Economics, 2015
• Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard University Bok Center, 2015
• Beinecke Scholarship for Graduate Study, 2007

• Taxing sweetened drinks by the amount of sugar could cut obesity and boost economic gains, Science Daily - 09/05/2019
• Experts Say Tax the Sugar—Not the Size—Of Drinks for Healthier Outcomes, AAAS - 09/05/2019
• The cigarette tax has saved millions of lives. A soda tax could too, Los Angeles Times - 06/03/2019
• How to tax sugary drinks, The Economist - 05/23/2019
• A nationwide tax on soda? Economists say it would be good for the country, and here’s their ‘optimal’ rate., Philadelphia Inquirer - 05/20/2019
• Story of Seattle: The city’s new soda tax is usurious — and also too low, The Seattle Times - 12/21/2018
• Measuring the effectiveness of Philly's sugary drink 'sin tax', National Public Radio: Philadelphia WHYY - 03/06/2017
• Do Sin Taxes Really Work?, Yahoo Finance - 03/05/2017
• Here's how much more soda will cost now that the tax is in effect, The Daily Pennsylvanian - 01/10/2017
• The case for a maximum wage, Vox - 08/06/2014
• Study: tax hikes could grow the economy, Vox - 04/20/2014
• Taxation and the distorted allocation of talent, Marginal Revolution - 04/05/2014

Knowledge @ Wharton

• Summer Reading: Wharton Faculty Picks, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/23/2024
• What Does Your Writing Style Say About You?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/23/2024
• How to Align Private Equity Motives with Nursing Home Outcomes, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/22/2024
• Baby Bust | Stewart Friedman, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/16/2024
• Why Are Private Equity Firms Buying Mental Health Clinics?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/15/2024
• Who Benefits in the Deal Between Reddit and OpenAI?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/15/2024
• How Behavioral Factors Shape Retirement Wealth, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/15/2024
• Stocks for the Long Run | Jeremy Siegel, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/09/2024
• This Media Bias Detector Analyzes News Reports in Real Time, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/09/2024
• Are Corporate Human Rights Practices Up to Par?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/08/2024