Paul Grieco is an industrial organization and antitrust economist whose empirical work addresses market definition, the measurement of market power, and competition. Professor Grieco’s research has analyzed consumer behavior and competition among firms in the retail, automotive, and healthcare industries, among others.
Professor Grieco has served as a visiting economist in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Research on competition in retail, automotive, and healthcare markets
Professor Grieco studies a variety of competition issues using empirical models of firm behavior and productivity.
In retail, he applies structural empirical methods to study spatial competition in grocery markets, including localized competition across different formats, such as large-format chains. His automotive research estimates market power and consumer demand in the U.S. auto industry, using differentiated-products demand models that capture how buyers value vehicle attributes. Professor Grieco’s healthcare work examines provider behavior, including strategic patient discharge decisions at long-term care facilities and the relationship between productivity and quality of care.
Professor Grieco has also addressed topics related to international trade, mergers and efficiency, switching costs, and the gains to the United States from globalization.
Publications and editorial roles in economics journals
Professor Grieco has published in peer-reviewed economics journals, including the American Economic Review, the RAND Journal of Economics, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Review of Economic Studies. Economic Inquiry named his coauthored paper, “The Influence of Hidden Research Decisions in Applied Microeconomics,” its best paper of the year in 2021. He serves as a coeditor of the Journal of Industrial Economics and on the board of editors of the American Economic Review.
Teaching and academic appointments
An award-winning educator, Professor Grieco teaches undergraduate and doctoral courses in industrial organization and empirical methods at Penn State. He has held visiting appointments at the University of Hong Kong, the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), and the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.