Zach Brown is an expert in industrial organization (IO) and applied microeconomics, focusing on such topics as the economics of healthcare, information frictions, digital markets, and algorithmic pricing. Professor Brown’s expertise is central to matters in which complex economic issues intersect, including market power, price transparency, and how information-driven disparities affect competition.
A former staff economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Professor Brown also has experience applying economic theory and empirical IO methods to a range of antitrust, healthcare, and technology policy issues.
Advanced empirical analysis in complex market environments
Professor Brown’s research on algorithmic pricing and digital markets examines how faster pricing algorithms may affect market outcomes. He has also made significant contributions to healthcare economics, examining how information frictions affect patients’ insurance and provider choices, their health outcomes, and the relationship between healthcare prices and competition.
A leading voice in the study of market dynamics, Professor Brown has published articles in prominent academic journals. His article on competition in pricing algorithms, coauthored with Alexander MacKay, earned the American Economic Journal’s prestigious annual Best Paper Award.
Research recognition and leadership
Professor Brown serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics and is a faculty research fellow in the Industrial Organization and Health Care programs at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). In addition, his research has been featured in prominent news media, such as the Financial Times, The Guardian, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.
At the University of Michigan, Professor Brown teaches courses on IO, public policy, and government regulation topics. He is a member of the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation and has held visiting appointments at the University of California, Berkeley and New York University.
Professor Brown also served as an NBER Postdoctoral Fellow. Before entering academia, he worked as a consultant at Cornerstone Research.