Josh Graff Zivin
jgraffzivin@ucsd.edu
Phone: (858) 822-6438
Fax: (858) 534-3939
9500 Gilman Dr. 0519
La Jolla, CA 92093
Office: #1313
Education
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1998
M.S., University of California, Berkeley, 1994
B.A., Rutgers College, Rutgers University, 1993
Programs and Centers
UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
UC San Diego Center for Environmental Economics
Biography
CV
Josh Graff Zivin is Associate Professor of Economics at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies and Affiliated Faculty of Economics. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and Research Director for International Environmental and Health Studies at the Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC). In 2004-2005, he served as Senior Economist for Health and the Environment on the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Prior to joining UCSD in 2008, he was an Associate Professor of Economics in the Mailman School of Public Health and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, where he served as the Director of the PhD Program in Sustainable Development.
Professor Graff Zivin has published numerous articles on a wide range of topics in top economic, policy, and medical journals. His research spans three fields of economics – health, the environment, and international development– and focuses on how uncertainty and heterogeneity affect both individual and societal decision-making. Policy relevance serves as a guiding force behind all of this work. He is currently engaged in three large and distinct projects. The first makes use of primary data collected over the past several years to examine the economic impacts of the AIDS crisis in Africa. The second relies on a unique, matched dataset to understand the role of institutions, social networks, and financial incentives in the production of new scientific knowledge within the life sciences. The third examines behavioral responses to poor air quality and its implications for the economic costs of climate change.
Research Interests
In Progress
Graff Zivin, J and M Neidell, “Temperature and the Allocation of Time: Implications for Climate Change” NBER WP #15717.
Graff Zivin, J, M Damon, and H Thirumurthy “Health Shocks and Natural Resource Management: Evidence from Western Kenya” NBER WP #16594.
Azoulay, P, J Graff Zivin, and B Sampat, “The Diffusion of Scientific Knowledge Across Time and Space: Evidence from Professional Transitions for the Superstars of Medicine” NBER WP #16683.
Goldstein, M, J Graff Zivin, J Habyarimana, C Pop-Eleches, and H Thirumurthy, “Health Worker Absence, HIV Testing and Behavioral Change: Evidence from Western Kenya.”
Dastrup, S, J Graff Zivin, D Costa, and M Kahn, “Understanding the Solar Home Price Premium: Electricity Generation and ‘Green’ Social Status.”
Recent Publications
Azoulay, P, J Graff Zivin, and G Manso, “Incentives and Creativity: Evidence from the Howard Hughes Medical Investigator Program” The RAND Journal of Economics, forthcoming.Graff Zivin, J, M Neidell, and W Schlenker, "Water Quality Violations and Avoidance Behavior: Evidence from Bottled Water Consumption" American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, forthcoming.
Azoulay, P, J Graff Zivin, J Wang “Superstar Extinction,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 25(2010): 549-589.
Graff Zivin, J and M Neidell, “Medical Technology Adoption, Uncertainty, and Irreversibilities: Is a Bird in the Hand Really Worth More than the Bush?” Health Economics, 19(2010): 142-153.
Graff Zivin, J and M Neidell, “Days of Haze: Environmental Information Disclosure and Intertemporal Avoidance Behavior,” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 58(2009): 119-128.
Graff Zivin, J, H Thirumurthy, and M Goldstein, “AIDS Treatment and Intrahousehold Resource Allocation: Children’s Nutrition and Schooling in Kenya,” Journal of Public Economics, 93(2009): 1008-1015.
