Rate My Professor Timothy Bersak

In the classroom, Bersak teaches introductory microeconomics, microeconomic theory, and applied microeconomics in areas such as health, labor, and public economics. He focuses on fostering students' intuitive grasp of decision-making tradeoffs. His research centers on the intersection of health, labor, and public economics, with studies on public health programs and policy effects. Notable publications include "The impact of WIC on infant immunizations and health care utilization" co-authored with L. Sonchak in Health Services Research (2018); "Prenatal care: Mechanisms and impacts on infant health and health care utilization" with L. Sonchak-Ardan in Contemporary Economic Policy (2022); "Marginal changes, marginal impacts: the limits of changes to WIC and their ability to influence breastfeeding rates" with L. Sonchak-Ardan in Children and Youth Services Review (2021); "Identification of job lock and inefficient labor market mobility" in Southern Economic Journal (2019); and "CBD as a cure-all? The impacts of state-level legalization of prescription cannabidiol (CBD) on opioid prescriptions" with R. Gearhart and N. Michieka in Southern Economic Journal (2024). Additional works cover topics like Tobacco-21 laws' impact on maternal smoking, mobile sports betting's effects on mental health, and Giffen behavior in sports. His dissertation, "Essays on Health, Health Care Utilization, and Public Insurance" (Clemson University, 2015), underpins his empirical analyses of health policy interventions. Bersak also mentors undergraduate research and chairs the Economics Department.