Amitabh Chandra

Amitabh Chandra is a health care economist with dual appointments at Harvard University as the Ethel Zimmerman Wiener Professor of Public Policy and Director of Health Policy Research at the Harvard Kennedy School, and as the Henry and Allison McCance Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Chandra also directs the joint MS/MBA program in the life sciences at Harvard, focusing on training leaders at the intersection of medicine, business, and policy. He received his BA and PhD in economics from the University of Kentucky and has developed a career that integrates academic research with policy impact.

Chandra's research centers on innovation, productivity, and cost growth in health care, medical malpractice, and racial disparities in medical care. He is known for examining how different groups receive varying levels of care and for exploring ways to create a more equitable health care system. His work addresses innovation and regulation in health care, with interests in improving quality, reducing costs, encouraging innovation in health care delivery, and advancing treatments for Alzheimer's disease and oncology. Chandra's research has been published in the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Health Affairs, and other professional journals.

Chandra has testified before the US Senate and the US Commission on Civil Rights and served as a special commissioner on the Massachusetts Special Commission on Provider Price Reform. He is a member of the Congressional Budget Office's panel of health advisors, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Social Insurance. Chandra serves on the Board of Directors of the Critical Path Institute, contributing expertise in health economics, policy, and biopharmaceutical innovation.

Chandra is the recipient of the Upjohn Institute's Dissertation Award, the NIHCM Foundation Health Care Research Award, the Kenneth Arrow Award for best paper in health economics, the Eugene Garfield Award for the impact of medical research, and the American Society of Health Economists Medal. The ASHE Medal is awarded biennially to the economist age 40 or under who has made significant contributions to the field of health economics. His research has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, Newsweek, and on National Public Radio.

As a Harvard professor, teacher, TEDMED speaker, economist, and entrepreneur, Chandra works at the intersection of innovation, regulation, disparities, and health policy, with expertise in state and federal policy, biopharmaceutical innovation, and FDA regulation. In his TEDMED talk, Chandra discusses the limitations of value-based pricing in ensuring that future drugs, including revolutionary cures and regenerative medicines, remain accessible and affordable. Policymakers, investors, employers, private companies, and journalists consult Chandra for insights on improving health care and distinguishing practical opportunities from aspirational ideas.