Eric Helland

Photo of Eric Helland

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

More Experts »

Adjunct Staff
Santa Monica Office

Education

Ph.D. in economics, Washington University in St. Louis

Overview

Biography

Eric Helland is an economist whose research focuses on law and economics and regulation. His recent research focuses on expert witness testimony, securities litigation, auto safety, and medical malpractice. He is working on a study on the impact of judicial pay on judicial quality and the impact of the Class Action Fairness Act. Before joining RAND in 2004, he was a visiting fellow at the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. In 2003–04, he served as a senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Regulatory Economics.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

  • Insurance class actions, medical malpractice, and physician labor supply, expert evidence

Selected Publications

Jonathan Klick, "Court Congestion as an Explanation for Rising Attorney Fees," Journal of Legal Studies, 36(1):17-Jan, 2007

with Alex Tabarrok, "Does Three Strikes Deter? A Non-Parametric Estimation," Journal of Human Resources, 22:309-330, 2007

Eric Helland, "Reputational Penalties and the Merits of Class Action Securities Litigation," Journal of Law and Economics, 49(2):365-395, 2006

Jonathan Klick and Alex Tabarrok, "Data Watch: Tort-uring the Data," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(2):207-220, 2005

Economics

Recent Projects

  • Insurance class actions
  • Medical malpractice and physician labor supply
  • Expert evidence

Selected Publications

Public Choice, "The optimal jury size when jury deliberation follows a random walk," Eric A. Helland , Yaron Raviv, 134(3-4):255-262, 2008

Eric A. Helland, Jon Klick, "The Tradeoffs between Regulation and Class Actions: Evidence from Insurance Litigation," Journal of Tort Law, 1(3):Article 2, 2008

Eric A. Helland, Jonathan Klick, "Court Congestion as an Explanation for Rising Attorney Fees," Journal of Legal Studies, 36(1):1-17, 2007

Eric A. Helland, Alex Tabarrok, "Does Three Strikes Deter? A Non-Parametric Estimation," Journal of Human Resources, 2:309-330, 2007

Eric A. Helland, Janet Smith, and Bill Brown, "Is Corporate Philanthropy an Agency Cost?" Journal of Corporate Finance, 12:855-877, 2006

Eric A. Helland, "Reputational Penalties and the Merits of Class Action Securities Litigation," Journal of Law and Economics, 49(2):365-395, 2006

Eric A. Helland, Mark Showalter, "The Impact of Liability on the Physician Labor Market," Journal of Law and Economics