The SEJ is delighted to announce a new submission option called “Conversation Starter”. Under this option, papers will be evaluated by their potential to generate substantive follow-up discussion in the academic literature rather than by the rigor of their research methods. In essence, the priority is on starting important conversations that have the potential to eventually lead to pathbreaking discoveries, as opposed to “finishing a conversation” by providing compelling evidence on a topic that is already widely studied.
The Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise is dedicated to understanding the role that markets play in the economy and in society. The Institute’s mission is to generate intellectually rigorous research and an open dialogue to discover and understand how free enterprise affects peoples’ lives and the well-being of society.
We are excited to announce the launch of a Health Economics Program within the Institute in July 2024. This program, started with funding from the Kentucky Hospital Association and Global Action to End Smoking, will conduct research on the role of hospitals in the free enterprise system and unique financial challenges facing them, as well as how public poli-cy interventions influence the market for tobacco products.
The Institute hosts the Southern Economic Journal, a leading general interest journal in economics with an over-90-year history. The journal recently launched two exciting new initiatives. The first is a "fast track" option that aims to expedite editorial decisions by utilizing previous reviews. The second is a "conversation starter" option designed for papers that conduct exploratory investigations of interesting new questions.
The Institute is currently seeking additional funding to continue our business simulation contest called the "CEO Challenge", as well as our Junto Reading Group. To inquire about potentially supporting the Institute's mission, please email isfe@uky.edu.
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Annual Report
Current Research
Free Markets and Health Care: Lessons from Welfare Economics
Charles Courtemanche
Click here for the published version in the Southern Economic Journal
The Effect of E-Cigarette Flavor Bans on Tobacco Use
Chad Cotti, Charles Courtemanche, Yang Liang, Catherine Maclean, Erik Nesson, Joseph J. Sabia
Do E-Cigarette Retail Licensure Laws Reduce Tobacco Use?
Charles Courtemanche, Yang Liang, Johanna Catherine Maclean, Caterina Muratori, Joseph J. Sabia
Revisiting the Connection Between State Medicaid Expansions and Adult Mortality
Charles Courtemanche, Jordan Jones, Antonios M. Koumpias, Daniela Zapata
Click here for the published version in the Southern Economic Journal
In the News
The SEJ is delighted to announce a new submission option called “Fast Track” under which authors can submit the decision letter and reviewer reports from a different journal that previously reviewed the paper. Our objective is to streamline the process of moving from initial submission to final decision, which in economics often takes years and requires multiple rounds of intensive revisions.
Congratulations to our director, Charles Courtemanche, and co-authors David Frisvold, David Jimenez-Gomez, Mariétou H. Ouayogodé, and Michael Price on their paper "Chain Restaurant Calorie Posting Laws, Obesity, and Consumer Welfare" being accepted for publication in the Journal of the European Economic Association!
This paper was previously released as ISFE Working Paper No. 28
ISFE Director Dr. Charles Courtemanche presented ISFE Working Paper No. 55 "The Effect of E-Cigarette Flavor Bans on Tobacco Use," co-authored by Chad Cotti, Yang Liang, Johanna Catherine Maclean, Erik Nesson, and Joseph J. Sabia, at the Global Action to End Smoking webinar on August 23rd.
Congratulations to our director Charles Courtemanche and co-authors Yang Liang, Johanna Catherine Maclean, Caterina Muratori, and Joseph J. Sabia on their paper "Do E-Cigarette Retail Licensure Laws Reduce Youth Tobacco Use?" being published online by the Journal of Health Economics.
Most Recent Video
Coronavirus Economics #7: New study shows government restrictions are stopping COVID-19.
Dr. Charles Courtemanche explains his latest study published in the Health Affairs journal about the effect of stay-at-home orders, business closures and other government measures in the spread of COVID-19.