Alex Rees-Jones

For more information about my research, please visit my personal website.

Current Courses (Fall 2024)

• BEPP2010 - Public Finance & Policy

  This course explores the economics and politics of public policy to provide an analytic framework for considering why, how, and with what success/failure government intervenes in a variety of policy areas. Particular attention will be paid to important policy issues relating to taxation, social security, low-income assistance, health insurance, education (both K-12 and higher ed), the environment, and government deficits. The costs and benefits of alternative policies will be explored along with the distribution of responsibilities between the federal, state and local governments. While the course will focus primarily on U.S. policies, the topics covered (e.g. tax reform, deficits versus austerity, etc.) are currently at the center of the policy debate in many other industrialized countries as well.

  BEPP2010001 ( Syllabus )

  BEPP2010002 ( Syllabus )

• BEPP9000 - Research Seminar

  Of the many ways that doctoral students typically learn how to do research, two that are important are watching others give seminar presentations (as in Applied Economics Seminars) and presenting one's own research. The BEPP 9000 course provides a venue for the latter. Wharton doctoral students enrolled in this course present applied economics research. Presentations both of papers assigned for other classes and of research leading toward a dissertation are appropriate in BEPP 9000. This course aims to help students further develop a hands-on understanding of the research process. All doctoral students with applied microeconomic interests are encouraged to attend and present. Second and third year Applied Economic Ph.D. students are required to enroll in BEPP 9000 and receive one-semester credit per year of participation.

  BEPP9000301 ( Syllabus )

• The Subtle Levers That Influence Affirmative Action, Knowledge@Wharton - 04/25/2023
• To get the wealthy to pay more tax, first we need to work out why they avoid it, Financial Times - 08/29/2021
• Taxpayer rights: Seeking a new dawn for nation-builders, Financial Express - 08/24/2021
• Online teaching negatively impacts student learning, Wharton professor’s study finds, The Daily Pennsylvanian - 07/26/2021
• Lessons Learned from Teaching during the Pandemic, educationnext.org - 05/12/2021
• How Covid-19 is making us rethink safety net programmes, VoxEU - 11/04/2020
• COVID-19 and changing tastes for safety-net programs, Wharton Business Daily - 10/27/2020
• Trump, Biden Fight to Bitter Draw in Final Debate, Foreign Policy - 10/22/2020
• How Democrats Won the War of Ideas, New York Times - 10/22/2020
• Amid Pandemic, Here’s What Researchers Have Learned About The Economy, NPR - 10/20/2020
• When Students Are Matched to Schools, Who Wins?, Chicago Booth Review - 08/26/2019
• Pursuit of happiness: What we want doesn’t always make us happy, Financial Express - 05/03/2019
• Tax Refunds Are More Than a Boost to Your Bank Account — They’re Good for the Country, Too, Time - 02/19/2019
• Happiness Reveals a Lot about Our Choices — but It Isn’t Everything, Knowledge@Wharton - 12/19/2014
• An April 15 Deadline for Charitable Giving Would Be a Boon to Nonprofits, The Chronicle of Philanthropy - 12/08/2014
• Maximising Happiness Does Not Maximse Welfare, Vox - 10/15/2014
• Study Shows Taxpayers with Balance Due More Likely to Cheat, Forbes.com - 10/17/2013
• The Joyless or the Jobless, The Economist - 11/25/2010

Knowledge at Wharton

• The Subtle Levers That Influence Affirmative Action, Knowledge at Wharton - 4/25/2023
• Taxpayers Hate to Lose: How Psychology Can Help Increase Collection, Knowledge at Wharton - 11/20/2018
• Happiness Reveals a Lot about Our Choices — but It Isn’t Everything, Knowledge at Wharton - 12/19/2014

Wharton Stories

• Get to Know the 20 New Faculty Members Joining Wharton This Year, Wharton Stories - 08/17/2020