Rate My Professor Edward Timmons

Edward Timmons serves as Service Associate Professor of Economics at West Virginia University's John Chambers College of Business and Economics. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Lehigh University and his B.A. in economics and actuarial science from Lebanon Valley College. Timmons founded the Knee Regulatory Research Center in June 2016 at Saint Francis University, where he was Associate Professor from 2008 to 2021, and oversaw its relocation to West Virginia University in 2021. As director of the center, he leads research on the impacts of occupational regulation on labor markets, consumer welfare, and economic outcomes.

His academic interests center on labor economics and health economics, with a focus on occupational licensing reforms, scope of practice for healthcare providers, and regulatory oversight. Notable publications include "The effects of licensing on the wages of radiologic technologists" (2008, co-authored with Robert J. Thornton), "The Licensing of Barbers in the USA" (2010, with Thornton), "Licensing one of the world’s oldest professions: Massage" (2013, with Thornton), "The de-licensing of occupations in the United States" (2015, with Thornton), and "The effects of growth in occupational licensing on intergenerational mobility" (2019). Recent works feature contributions to state occupational licensing snapshots and peer-reviewed articles such as "Seeing is believing: The effects of optometrist scope of practice expansion" (2024, co-authored with Kihwan Bae). Timmons' research has been published in journals like the Journal of Law and Economics and Health Economics, cited by the Federal Trade Commission and the Obama White House, and featured in a U.S. Senate hearing. He has testified before state legislatures and authored over 100 policy articles in The Hill, Harvard Business Review, and U.S. News & World Report. He also serves as Vice President of Policy at the Archbridge Institute.