April 2nd: Dr. Aaron Yelowitz presented his paper, "Early Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Health Care Access, Risky Health Behaviors, and Self-Assessed Health"
The Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise is dedicated to understanding the role that markets play in the economy and in society. The Institute’s mission is to generate intellectually rigorous research and an open dialogue to discover and understand how free enterprise affects peoples’ lives and the well-being of society.
We are excited to announce the launch of a Health Economics Program within the Institute in July 2024. This program, started with funding from the Kentucky Hospital Association and Global Action to End Smoking, will conduct research on the role of hospitals in the free enterprise system and unique financial challenges facing them, as well as how public policy interventions influence the market for tobacco products.
The Institute hosts the Southern Economic Journal, a leading general interest journal in economics with an over-90-year history. The journal recently launched two exciting new initiatives. The first is a "fast track" option that aims to expedite editorial decisions by utilizing previous reviews. The second is a "conversation starter" option designed for papers that conduct exploratory investigations of interesting new questions.
The Institute is currently seeking additional funding to continue our business simulation contest called the "CEO Challenge", as well as our Junto Reading Group. To inquire about potentially supporting the Institute's mission, please email isfe@uky.edu.
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Annual Report
Current Research
Do Vaping Taxes Tip the Scale? The Effect of E-Cigarette Taxation on Obesity
Charles Courtemanche, Tessie Krishna, Yang Liang, Joseph J. Sabia, Anthony Chuo
Cigarette Taxes and the Household Budget
Michael E. Darden, Reginald Hebert, Michael F. Pesko, Samuel Sturm
The 340B Drug Pricing Program: Existing Evidence and Policy Implications for Kentucky
Charles Courtemanche, Joseph Garuccio
E-Cigarette Taxation and Queer Youth
Anthony Chuo, Chad Cotti, Charles Courtemanche, Johanna Catherine Maclean, Erik Nesson, Joseph J. Sabia
In the News
Is the Medicaid work requirement to blame for people losing their healthcare? Dr. Yelowitz told MedPage Today that this report draws some unfounded conclusions.
Curious about the impact on menu labeling laws? Check out what Dr. Yelowitz says about this law in the CQ Researcher.
ISFE affiliate, professor Aaron Yelowitz joined Univision in English on Monday June 1st to discuss the possible widespread transmission of COVID-19 amid large-scale protests in cities around the United States.
The study by Chuck Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz, regarding the spread of COVID-19 would have been 35 times greater in the U.S. without policies like shelter in place orders, is covered by Umair Irfan of Vox.
Most Recent Video
Coronavirus Economics #7: New study shows government restrictions are stopping COVID-19.
Dr. Charles Courtemanche explains his latest study published in the Health Affairs journal about the effect of stay-at-home orders, business closures and other government measures in the spread of COVID-19.