The Incidental Economist is a
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
focused on
health economics and
policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...
. It was founded in 2009 by
Austin Frakt, a health economist at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
, who has since been joined by
Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician at
Indiana University School of Medicine, as co-Editor-in-Chief. The site features posts by the two as well as
a number of contributing writers, who are primarily academics based across the United States. The authors often synthesize academic literature as it might relate to contemporary health policy issues.
The blog gained prominence in 2009–10 when it was often cited by journalists, such as
Ezra Klein,
Kevin Drum
Kevin Drum (born October 19, 1958) is an American journalist. Drum initially rose to prominence through the popularity of his independent blog ''Calpundit'' (2003–2004). He later was invited to launch a blog, ''Political Animal'' (2004–2008) ...
,
Jonathan Cohn and
Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Michael Sullivan (born 10 August 1963) is a British-American author, editor, and blogger. Sullivan is a political commentator, a former editor of ''The New Republic'', and the author or editor of six books. He started a political blog, ' ...
, who were covering the
health care reform
Health care reform is for the most part governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place. Health care reform typically attempts to:
* Broaden the population that receives health care coverage through either public sector insur ...
process that would eventually culminate in the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...
. The blog remains one of the most widely cited health policy blogs on the Internet.
Regular contributors
*
Austin Frakt (founder, co-Editor-in-Chief): health economist at the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...
, associate professor at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
, contributor to
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
' ''The Upshot''
*
Aaron Carroll (co-Editor-in-Chief): professor of pediatrics and dean for research mentoring at
Indiana University School of Medicine, contributor to
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
' ''The Upshot''
* Adrianna McIntyre (Managing Editor):
Ph.D student at Harvard University 2016 MPH/
MPP dual-degree graduate at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
*
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: Professor of law and public health at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
* Harold Pollack: professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
* Bill Gardner: child psychologist, professor of epidemiology, chair of child and adolescent psychiatry, and health services researcher at the
University of Ottawa
* Nicholas Bagley: professor of law at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
About Nicholas
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References
External links
The Incidental Economist
American health websites
Economics websites
Internet properties established in 2009
Health economics
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