Department of Finance

Julian Reif is a member of the Subtance Use and Disorders Working Group at IGPA. His primary area of interest is health care economics, with a current research focus on the value of health and the effectiveness of social insurance programs. One of Professor Reif's recent papers argues that the societal value of medical technology is significantly larger than has previously been recognized, especially with respect to medical treatments for severe diseases. The paper also shows that medical treatments act as a form of insurance. Consequently, medical innovation policy can have a large impact on reducing health risks. Another recent paper finds that Medicare Part D, a prescription drug program for the elderly established by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, successfully reduced mortality following its implementation. He also studies energy and environmental policy, such as the gasoline tax, air pollution, and carbon emissions. His recent work in that area includes estimating the effect of air pollution on mortality, medical utilization, and healthcare costs. He finds that the reduction in air pollution over the past twenty years reduced elderly mortality, generating significant social benefits.