Dean of the Campbell School of Business
Professor of Economics
Lauren Heller is a professor of economics and dean of the Campbell School of Business. Her research interests include data analysis and statistical program evaluation, international health and development economics, and a wide variety of policy questions and topics in applied microeconomics.
She received her bachelor’s degree from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and her Ph.D. in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has published scholarly articles in a wide range of outlets, including the Eastern Economic Journal, Contemporary Economic Policy, Defence and Peace Economics, the Journal of Developing Areas, the Journal of Sports Economics, and Social Science & Medicine. In addition to her research fields, she also enjoys working with students in Berry’s honors program, mentoring students both academically and professionally, and using discussion and multimedia clips to illustrate economic concepts in her classes.
Education
- Ph.D., Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- B.A., Economics, Capital University
Teaching Interests
- International Development
- Health Economics
- Microeconomics
Research Interests
- International Health Economics
- Economic Development and Program Evaluation
- Applied Microeconometrics
Selected Publications
- “On Political Conventions and Hotel Occupancy: An Update” (with Abhi Aurobindo and Frank
Stephenson, Berry College). In The Economic Impact of Sports Facilities, Franchises, and Events:
Contributions in Honor of Robert Baade. Edited by Robert Baumann and Victor Matheson. Springer
Sports Economics, Management, and Policy Series (In Press). - “How does the Super Bowl Affect Host City Tourism?” (with Frank Stephenson, Berry College).
Journal of Sports Economics, 22(2), 2021. - “Unconventional Wisdom: Estimating the Economic Impact of the Republican and Democratic
National Political Conventions,” with Victor Matheson and E. Frank Stephenson. Papers in Regional
Science, 97(4), 2018. - “Is Human Trafficking the Dark Side of Economic Freedom?” with Robert A. Lawson, Ryan H.
Murphy, and Claudia R. Williamson. Defence and Peace Economics, 29(4), 2018. - “Fracking and Labor Market Conditions: A Comparison of Pennsylvania and New York Border
Counties,” with Kelly Hastings and E. Frank Stephenson. Eastern Economic Journal, 43(4), 2017 - “A Classroom Property Title Experiment,” with E. Frank Stephenson. Journal of Economics and
Finance Education 15(1), 2016. - “Development and Income Inequality: A New Specification of the Kuznets Hypothesis,” with
Katherine Theyson. Journal of Developing Areas, 49(3), 2015. - “Economic Freedom, Homeownership, and State Labor Market Conditions,” with E. Frank
Stephenson. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy 4(2), 2015. - “The Influence of Physical Activity on Cigarette Smoking Among Adolescents: Evidence From Add
Health,” with Mir M. Ali and Aliaksandr Amialchuk. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 17(5), 2015. - “Primary Voting Systems and Economic Freedom: An Analysis of U.S. States,” with Peter T.
Calcagno. Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice, XXXII(1-3), 2014. - “Paging Dr. Hibbert: What The Simpsons Can Teach Us About Health Economics.” In Homer
Economicus: The Simpsons and Economics. Joshua Hall, Editor. Stanford University Press. May,
2014. - “Economic Freedom and Labor Market Conditions: Evidence from The States,” with E. Frank
Stephenson. Contemporary Economic Policy, 32(1), 2014. - “Slums and Early Childhood Preventive Care Choices Among Urban Residents of Bangladesh.”
Social Science & Medicine 94, pp. 43-55, 2013. - “For Compassion or Money? The Factors Influencing the Funding of Micro Loans,” with Kayla
Badding. Journal of Socio-Economics: 41(6), 2012. - “Using India and China to Interest American Students in Economics,” with Nimish Adhia. Education
About Asia: 17(3), 2012. - “Social Cohesion and Its Relationship to Endogenous Institutional Formation and Economic Growth.”
Journal of Private Enterprise: 25(1), 2009.- Also appearing in Economic Freedom: Causes and Consequences, Joshua Hall and Robert
Lawson (eds.). New York: Nova Science, 2011.
- Also appearing in Economic Freedom: Causes and Consequences, Joshua Hall and Robert