Allison Witman
Health Economist
University of Utah
Marriner S. Eccles Institute of Quantitative Analysis and Economics
David Eccles School of Business
Phone: 910.962.3893
Bio
I am an Associate Professor of Economics (Lecturer) at the University of Utah. Prior to joining University of Utah, I was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a Research Economist at RTI International. At RTI International, I worked on projects relating to HIV in pregnant people, evaluation of Affordable Care Act initiatives, and cost-effectiveness of vaccination for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, and the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. As an economist, my research attempts to identify causal impacts of policies on health and related outcomes.
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I am originally from Salt Lake City, Utah. I graduated from Westminster College and received my Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California Santa Barbara.
Research
I am a health economist interested in all areas of health policy, but I focus on policies that affect pregnant people, children, and people who use illicit substances. My research has examined the effects of prenatal substance use policies on maternal and infant health and reports of child maltreatment, the effects of medical and recreational marijuana laws on maternal and infant health, the effects of Medicaid expansion on treatment for opioid use disorder, the effects of family structure on ADHD diagnoses and treatment, and the effectiveness of paying Medicaid beneficiaries to quit smoking and participate in other preventive behaviors. My goal as a health economist is to produce research that informs smarter, more effective public policy to improve population health and well-being.
Teaching
At UNCW, I taught the following courses:
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Principles of Microeconomics
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Intermediate Microeconomics
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Health Economics
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MBA Economics
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MBA Introduction to Health Care Systems
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I have had the honor of supervising many spectacular Honors students who spend their senior year writing a research paper. Names of students whose committees I chaired are bolded.
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Octavio Cortes (2020): The Effects of Racial Animus on Hispanic and Black Health: Evidence from Google Searches
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Sydney Mose (2021): Intrinsic Levels of Pandemic Prevention as Predictors of Compliance to COVID-19 Mandates
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Marissa Schmoeker (2021): The Effects of Civil Protest and Economic Stability in Latin America
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Charles Hering: (2022): China, the One-Child Policy, and Its Consequences
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Lucinda Krueger (2022): Characteristics of Rural Ethiopian Households that Receive Microcredit and Other Credit
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Daniel Sierra (2022): Partisanship and COVID-19 Vaccinations: The County-Level Political Battle with National Implications
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Isabella Underhill (2022): The Effect of Labor Market Insurance Policies on Deaths of Despair
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Gabriella Vasquez (2022): The Impact of Ending DACA on the Mental Health of DACA Recipients
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Zachary Feinmel (2022): Economic Conditions and Prostitution
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Colin Stromberg (2023): Air Pollution and Infant Health During COVID-19
Contact:
University of Utah
Robert H. and Katharine B. Garff Executive Education Building
1655 East Campus Center Drive
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-8939
Health Economist