Richard A. Dunn, PhD

Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics (Affiliate)

Research Overview

My research on identifying causal relationships between the economic environment and health behaviors/outcomes has direct policy relevance to public health professionals who must conduct cost-benefit analyses of proposed government interventions. As only one concrete example, it is critically important that policy-makers know the causal effect of fast-food exposure on obesity if they are considering restrictions on restaurant locations to improve individual and population health outcomes. Basing decisions purely on correlational relationships may incorrectly under- or over-estimate the projected benefits of such a policy.

Education

2008 Ph.D. Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison

2007 M.S. Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison

2004 M.Sc. Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, London School of Economics

2002 B.A. Economics/Mathematics, Williams College

Recent Publications