I am primarily a public finance theorist. Broadly speaking, this means that I am interested in the role of the public sector in the economy and that I approach questions from a theory-first perspective. My specific interests include: the role of government pensions and private-sector alternatives in financing retirement; the optimal design of income tax systems; and the government's role in regulating private insurance markets.

I taught AP Economics immediately after graduating from college with a degree in physics, and I haven't looked back: I have since taught at the high-school, college, Masters, and PhD levels. I've loved every minute of it, but teaching students in a liberal arts setting is my favorite. My teaching interests are broad. They include basic micro and macro theory, advanced topics in game theory and decision theory, topics in public finance, and general-interest courses on topics of contemporary economic concern.

I am actively engaged in the economics profession. My work has been published in a wide variety of mainstream economics journals, including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Public Economics, the Journal of Economic Theory, the Review of Economic Dynamics, and the Journal of Risk and Insurance. My broad interests are reflected in my publications in unusual outlets (for an economist), including the Quarterly Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Theoretical Biology, and Geophysical Research Letters. I am the co-editor-in-chief of the Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, and I serve on the editorial board of the Journal of Economics Education and the Journal of Risk and Insurance.

I spend most of my non-economist time with my wife Beth and our daughters Adele, Mabel, and Loretta. We enjoy biking, kayaking, gardening, cooking, and hiking with our good dog Ken.

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