Alex Rees-Jones

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

Current Courses (Spring 2025)

• 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.

  BEPP9000001 ( Syllabus )

• BEPP9330 - Public Econ: Social Ins

  The first part of this course will examine the rationale for and economic impact (e.g. on saving, labor supply, etc.) of social insurance programs such as social security, unemployment insurance and disability insurance. The next major part of the course will explore these same issues for government interventions in health insurance markets. The course will then cover research on public goods, externalities, fiscal federalism, and econmic stimulus (including the government's recent response to the "Great Recession") before proceeding to an exploration of the government's role in K-12 and high education. Both theoretical and empirical evidence will be covered along with a mix of classic studies and more cutting-edge research. Throughout the course we will discuss the tradoffs - for example between the protection and distortion of social insurance programs -- that influence government's optional role. While the focus will be on evidence from the U.S., some research from other industrialized and developing countries will also be covered.

  BEPP9330001 ( 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 Psychology of Paying Taxes | Alex Rees-Jones, Knowledge at Wharton - 3/11/2025
• 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