Darius N. Lakdawalla

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Education

Ph.D. in economics, University of Chicago

Overview

Biography

Darius Lakdawalla is Director of Research for the Bing Center. His research has been concerned with the economics of risks to health, and the organization of health care markets. In particular, he has published studies exploring the reasons behind the declining use of nursing homes by the elderly, rising rates of obesity in America, acceleration in the rate of new HIV infections, and the surprising growth in disability among younger Americans. Dr. Lakdawalla received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago and his bachelor's degree in mathematics and philosophy from Amherst College. His work has been published in leading journals of economics, medicine, and health policy. He is currently a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, in Cambridge, MA, and is a professor of economics at the Pardee RAND Graduate School of Public Policy.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

  • Health economics and insurance economics
  • HIV treatments
  • Obesity
  • Pharmaceutical patents
  • Public policy toward terrorism risk

Selected Publications

J. Bhattacharya and D. Lakdawalla, "Does Medicare Benefit the Poor?" Journal of Public Economics, 90, 2006

D. Lakdawalla and George Zanjani, "Insurance, Self-Protection, and the Economics of Terrorism," Journal of Public Economics, 89, 2005

D. Goldman et al., "The Health and Cost Consequences of Obesity Among the Elderly," Health Affairs [Web Exclusive], 2005

D. Lakdawalla and T. Philipson, "The Rise in Old Age Longevity and the Market for Long-Term Care," American Economic Review, 92(1), 2002

D. Lakdawalla et al., "HIV Breakthroughs and Risky Sexual Behavior," Quarterly Journal of Economics

Civil Justice

Biography

Darius Lakdawalla is a Senior Economist at RAND. His areas of interest are health and labor economics. His research is concerned with understanding the reasons for the recent growth in obesity, investigating workplace health issues, aging, and understanding why the quality of schoolteachers has declined in the U.S. over the past century.

Economics

Recent Projects

  • Regulating Terrorism Insurance
  • Theory of Health Disparities
  • Explaining Obesity Growth
  • Evaluating Cigarette Taxation

Selected Publications

Darius Lakdawalla and Tomas Philipson, "Labor Supply and Weight," Journal of Human Resources, 42(1):85-166, 2007

Jay Bhattacharya, Darius Lakdawalla, "Does Medicare Benefit the Poor?" Journal of Public Economics, 90(1-2):277-292, 2006

Darius Lakdawalla, Neeraj Sood, and Dana Goldman, "HIV Breakthroughs and Risky Sexual Behavior," Quarterly Journal of Economics, :1063-1102, 2006

Darius Lakdawalla and Tomas Philipson, "Nonprofit Production and Industry Performance," Journal of Public Economics, 90(8-9):1681-1698, 2006

Darius Lakdawalla, Jay Bhattacharya, and Dana Goldman, "Are the Young Becoming More Disabled?" Health Affairs, 23(1):168-176, 2004

Darius Lakdawalla, Jay Bhattacharya, and Dana Goldman, "The Rise in Old Age Longevity and the Market for Long-Term Care," American Economic Review, 92(1):295-306, 200

Darius Lakdawalla, Neeraj Sood, "Innovation and the Welfare Effects of Public Drug Insurance," Journal of Public Economics (forthcoming)

Darius Lakdawalla, Dana Goldman, Pierre-Carl Michaud, Neeraj Sood, Robert Lempert, Ze Cong, Han de Vries, and Italo Gutierrez, "US Pharmaceutical Policy in a Global Marketplace," Health Affairs (forthcoming)

Publications

On Average, Physicians Spend Nearly 11 Percent of Their 40-Year Careers with an Open, Unresolved Malpractice Claim - 2013

An Analysis of Whether Higher Health Care Spending in the United States Versus Europe Is 'Worth It' in the Case of Cancer - 2012

How Cancer Patients Value Hope and the Implications for Cost-Effectiveness Assessments of High-Cost Cancer Therapies - 2012

Outcomes of Medical Malpractice Litigation Against US Physicians - 2012

Patients Value Metastatic Cancer Therapy More Highly Than Is Typically Shown Through Traditional Estimates - 2012

The Large Social Value Resulting from Use of Statins Warrants Steps to Improve Adherence and Broaden Treatment - 2012

Food Prices and the Dynamics of Body Weight - 2011

Malpractice Risk According to Physician Specialty - 2011

Malpractice Risk, by Physician Specialty - 2011

Preventing Obesity and Its Consequences: Highlights of RAND Health Research - 2011

An Economic Evaluation of the War on Cancer - 2010

Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Users of Erectile Dysfunction Drugs: Analysis of Claims Data - 2010

The Fiscal Consequences of Trends in Population Health - 2010

Valuing Health Technologies at NICE: Recommendations for Improved Incorporation of Treatment Value in HTA - 2010

An Economic Evaluation of the War on Cancer - 2009

Annual Expenditures for Nursing Home Care: Private and Public Payer Price Growth, 1977 to 2004 - 2009

Food Prices and the Dynamics of Body Weight - 2009

Innovation and the Welfare Effects of Public Drug Insurance - 2009

Insurer Bargaining and Negotiated Drug Prices in Medicare Part D - 2009

International Differences in Longevity and Health and Their Economic Consequences - 2009

The Effect of Regulation on Pharmaceutical Revenues: Experience in Nineteen Countries - 2009

The Welfare Effects of Medical Malpractice Liability - 2009

U.S. Pharmaceutical Policy in a Global Marketplace - 2009

Understanding the Economic Consequences of Shifting Trends in Population Health - 2009

Chronic Disease and Severe Disability Among Working-Age Populations - 2008

Modeling the Health and Medical Care Spending of the Future Elderly - 2008

Regulating Drug Prices: U.S. Policy Alternatives in a Global Context - 2008

How Does Terrorism Risk Vary Across Space and Time? An Analysis Based on the Israeli Experience - 2007

Obesity and Disability: The Shape of Things to Come - 2007

The Welfare Effects of Public Drug Insurance - 2007

Catastrophe Bonds, Reinsurance, and the Optimal Collateralization of Risk-Transfer - 2006

HIV Breakthroughs and Risky Sexual Behavior - 2006

Health Insurance as a Two-Part Pricing Contract - 2006

Intellectual Property and Marketing - 2006

Optimal Liability for Terrorism - 2006

The Economics of Teacher Quality - 2006

The Labor Market Value of Health Improvements - 2006

Consequences of Health Trends and Medical Innovation for the Future Elderly - 2005

Does Medicare Benefit the Poor? Appendix - 2005

Future Health and Medical Care Spending of the Elderly: Implications for Medicare - 2005

How Does Health Insurance Affect Workers’ Compensation Filing? - 2005

Insurance and Innovation in Health Care Market - 2005

The Health and Cost Consequences of Obesity Among the Future Elderly - 2005

Welfare-Enhancing Technological Change and the Growth of Obesity - 2005

Welfare-Enhancing Technological Change and the Growth of Obesity - 2005

Are the Young Becoming More Disabled? Rates of Disability Appear to Be on the Rise Among People Ages Eighteen to Fifty-Nine, Fueled By a Growing Obesity Epidemic - 2004

Disability Forecasts and Future Medicare Costs - 2004

HIV Breakthroughs and Risky Sexual Behavior - 2004

Health Status and Medical Treatment of the Future Elderly: Final Report - 2004

Insurance, Self-Protection, and the Economics of Terrorism - 2004

Issues and Options for Government Intervention in the Market for Terrorism Insurance - 2004

RAND Review: Vol. 28, No. 1, Spring 2004 - 2004

Social Insurance and the Design of Innovation Incentives - 2004

Terrorism Insurance Policy and the Public Good - 2004

Time-Inconsistency and Welfare - 2004

A Response to the Points By Manton and Williamson - 2003

Are the Young Becoming More Disabled? Appendix - 2003

Forecasting the Nursing Home Population - 2003

Is Nursing Home Demand Affected By the Decline in Age Difference Between Spouses? - 2003

Does Medicare Benefit the Poor? New Answers to an Old Question - 2002

Insurance, Self-Protection, and the Economics of Terrorism - 2002

Quantity Over Quality - 2002

Technological Change and the Growth of Obesity: A Theoretical and Empirical Examination - 2002

The Rise in Old Age Longevity and the Market for Long-Term Care - 2002