
Matt Schmitt
Biography
“A smart and effective competition authority is an integral part of a well-functioning market economy,” says Assistant Professor of Strategy Matt Schmitt. “It keeps firms honest while not overburdening them with regulation — strengthening incentives for firms to innovate and create value.”
Schmitt is a health and industrial organization economist who earned his Ph.D. in managerial economics and strategy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His research primarily examines competition and antitrust issues in health care markets.
“Business practices are constantly evolving,” he says. “Antitrust analysis of these practices is often extremely nuanced and complex, especially in health care, where there are several different layers of decision makers, all with potentially competing objectives. My research seeks to better understand the economics of these situations and whether policy may have a role to play in improving outcomes.”
Schmitt’s current projects include studies of competition between multihospital systems, cost savings from hospital mergers, copayment coupons for prescription drugs and “reverse payment” patent settlements.
Education
Ph.D. Managerial Economics and Strategy, 2016, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
B.A. Economics, 2009, Georgetown University
Publications
The Competitive Implications of Private Label Mergers (with Loren Smith), forthcoming at the Antitrust Law Journal
Employer Consolidation and Wages: Evidence from Hospitals (with Elena Prager), conditionally accepted at the American Economic Review
Who Cares About a Label? The Effect of Pediatric Labeling Changes on Prescription Drug Utilization (with Christopher Ody), International Journal of Health Economics and Management, 2019
Multimarket Contact in the Hospital Industry, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2018
A Framework for Estimating Damages in Reverse Payment Cases (with Soheil Ghili), Antitrust Law Journal, 2017
When Discounts Raise Costs: The Effect of Copay Coupons on Generic Utilization (with Leemore Dafny and Christopher Ody), American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2017
Press: Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Business Insider, NPR Marketplace
Do Hospital Mergers Reduce Costs?, Journal of Health Economics, 2017
Undermining Value-Based Purchasing - Lessons from the Pharmaceutical Industry (with Leemore Dafny and Christopher Ody), New England Journal of Medicine (Perspective), 2016