The Incidental Economist
Type of site | Health economics, Health policy blog |
|---|---|
| Created by | |
| URL | theincidentaleconomist |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 2009 |
| Current status | Active |
The Incidental Economist is a blog focused on health economics and policy. It was founded in 2009 by Austin Frakt, a health economist at Boston University, 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,[1] Kevin Drum,[2] Jonathan Cohn[3] and Andrew Sullivan,[4][5] who were covering the health care reform process that would eventually culminate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The blog remains one of the most widely cited health policy blogs on the Internet.[6]
Regular contributors
- Austin Frakt (founder, co-Editor-in-Chief): health economist at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, associate professor at Boston University, contributor to The New York Times' The Upshot[7]
- 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 Upshot[8]
- Adrianna McIntyre (Managing Editor): Ph.D student at Harvard University 2016[9] MPH/MPP dual-degree graduate at the University of Michigan[10]
- Kevin Outterson: Professor of law and public health at Boston University[11]
- Harold Pollack: professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago
- Bill Gardner: child psychologist, professor of epidemiology, chair of child and adolescent psychiatry, and health services researcher at the University of Ottawa[12]
- Nicholas Bagley: professor of law at the University of Michigan[13]
References
- ↑ "Letters to Health-Care Santa: Bloggers' edition". The Washington Post. December 22, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Drum, Kevin. "Is Health Insurance Good For You?". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2026-04-03.
- ↑ "Give Me Insurance Or Give Me Death". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2026-04-03.
- ↑ Sullivan, Andrew (February 16, 2010). "Pass It On". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
- ↑ "Selected Citations". The Incidental Economist. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
- ↑ Levins, Hoag (March 21, 2014). "Austin Frakt to Write for New York Times". Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
- ↑ About Austin
- ↑ About Aaron
- ↑ "@onceuponA" on Twitter
- ↑ About Adrianna
- ↑ About Kevin
- ↑ About Bill
- ↑ "About Nicholas". The Incidental Economist. 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2026-04-03.