Kristen Cooper

About:

Professor Cooper teaches classes in microeconomics, public policy, environmental economics, and Christian Teaching on the Economy. Her current research focuses on the development and use of well-being measures for public policy. She has also published on other topics related to behavioral economics and welfare (wellbeing) economics, including consumer behavior in “fast fashion” markets, evaluating environmental policy, and the strategic behavior of participants in markets. In Fall 2019, she was a Fulbright U.S. Scholar at the Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife, Spain. Prof. Cooper joined the Economics and Business faculty in 2013 after completing her Ph.D. in Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. Before graduate school, she worked as an analyst in the field of antitrust and economic consulting. In all her work at Gordon, Prof. Cooper seeks to challenge students to combine their compassion with careful analysis.

Selected Recent Research

Publications
“Self-reported wellbeing indicators are a valuable complement to traditional economic indicators but aren’t yet ready to compete with them.” Daniel J. Benjamin, Kristen B. Cooper, Ori Heffetz, and Miles S. Kimball. Behavioral Public Policy, 2019, Accepted. 

“Ethanol Policies and Welfare under the Pre-existing Fuel and Labor Taxes.” Kristen B. Cooper and Dušan Drabik. Ekonomický časopis (Journal of Economics), 2019, Accepted. 

“A Well-Being Snapshot in a Changing World.” Daniel J. Benjamin, Kristen B. Cooper, Ori Heffetz, and Miles Kimball. American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 2019, 109(5): 344-349. https://ideas.repec.org/a/aea/apandp/v109y2019p344-49.html

“Limited rationality and the strategic environment: Further theory and experimental evidence.” Kristen B. Cooper, Henry S. Schneider, and Michael Waldman. Games and Economic Behavior, 2017, 106(C): 188-208. https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/games-and-economic-behavior/vol/106/suppl/C

“Challenges in Constructing a Survey-Based Well-Being Index.” Daniel J. Benjamin, Kristen B. Cooper, Ori Heffetz, and Miles Kimball. American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings, 2017, 107(5): 1–5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5901737

“Consumer well-being in a future of accelerating novelty.” Kristen B. Cooper. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 2017, 27(2): 315-335. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00191-015-0420-x

Conference Presentations 
2019 “How Do Subjective Consumption Vectors Vary with Age?” American Economic Association Annual Meeting: Atlanta, GA, January 6, 2019. 

2018 “Subjective Consumption and Social Welfare.” Normative Ethics and Welfare Economics Conference at Wharton: Philadelphia, PA, October 26-27, 2018. 

2018 “Welfare Economics in Introductory Microeconomics: Comparing Approaches to Efficiency.” AEA Conference on Teaching and Research in Economic Education (CTREE): San Antonio, TX, May 30 – June 1, 2018.

Memberships
American Economic Association
Association of Christian Economists