Alex Rees-Jones

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

Current Courses (Spring 2024)

• BEPP9150 - Behav. Econ & Pol Anal

  In this course we will be surveying the ways in which behavioral economics ideas are influencing economic analysis in different "applied micro" fields. A guiding focus of the course will be studying the role of behavioral economics when conducting welfare or policy analysis. The course will begin with a high-level overview of the common themes seen across all the fields we will discuss, and then we will proceed through a series of modules in which we examine the specifics in different applications. Over the course of the semester, we will dive into public finance, health economics, market design, labor economics, and industrial organization.

  BEPP9150001 ( 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
• How Democrats Won the War of Ideas, New York Times - 10/22/2020
• Trump, Biden Fight to Bitter Draw in Final Debate, Foreign Policy - 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