About

I am an Associate Professor in the Business Economics and Public Policy department at the Wharton School. I am also a Co-Editor at the Journal of Public Economics and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

I study issues at the intersection of public economics, behavioral economics, and normative economics. My work studies the use of taxes both for reducing inequality and as an instrument to change behavior. Recent projects explore the use of soda and sweetened beverage taxes to improve health outcomes, the optimal design of state-run lotteries, and the optimal design of capital and wealth taxes. I also have work studying the use of income taxes to encourage talented individuals to pursue professions beneficial to society, and the use of work subsidies like the Earned Income Tax Credit to spur employment.

Contact

Email: ben.lockwood at wharton.upenn.edu
Twitter: @bblockwood
BlueSky: @benlockwood.com

Links and Resources

Faculty webpage
Google Scholar profile
Github: bblockwood

Links to conferences I have co-organized:
PhD Boot Camp on Behavioral Public Economics, August 21-23, 2025
Penn Wharton Conference on Race and Economics, October 16, 2020.
Normative Ethics and Welfare Economics Conference, October 26-27, 2018.