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About Me
I am a physician and behavioral scientist. My research and writing explore the quirks in human nature that influence our lives -- the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness, and the way our society functions. (more...)- Have a question or just want to get in touch? Email me at peter.ubel@duke.edu
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Tag Archives: public policy
Figuring Out How Many Calories Are in Your Burrito
As if the Affordable Care Act wasn’t controversial enough, a lesser-known provision of the law has critics warning of regulatory zeal. Section 4205 of the ACA (in case you haven’t read that far) requires restaurants to post calorie counts for the … Continue reading
Posted in Behavioral Economics and Public Policy
Tagged behavioral economics, public policy
How Little Did We Accomplish with First Round of Fiscal Cliff Negotiations?
Here is a quick summary from the Wall Street Journal of what the U.S. Federal Debt looks like now that we have avoided, at least for now, the fiscal cliff. As you will see, we didn’t do much to balance … Continue reading
Posted in Miscellaneous
Tagged public policy
What Airplane Safety, Mammograms, and Gun Massacres Have in Common
Gun rights advocates are correct: a well armed principal might have reduced the death toll from the tragic elementary school shootings in Connecticut last week. Gun carrying citizens might also have been able to take down the shooters in Aurora and … Continue reading
Posted in Miscellaneous
Tagged breast cancer, public policy
Evaluating the Quality of Charter Schools and Tertiary Care Hospitals
If Americans judged the quality of hospital care the way Newsweek judges high schools, we would soon be inundated with “charter hospitals” that only treat healthy patients. As reported in The New YorkTimes , thirty-seven of Newsweek’s top 50 high schools … Continue reading
Posted in Health Policy
Tagged health policy, healthcare costs, Medicare, public policy
Why We Need More Twelve-Year-Olds Teaching Health Policy
I come from an ardent Republican family. Suspicion of government, you could say, runs in my genes. No surprise then that the first time my parents and siblings heard about Obama’s individual health insurance mandate, they were against it… (Read … Continue reading
Posted in Health Policy
Tagged individual mandate, partisanship, public policy
How Irrationality Can Reduce Traffic Jams
In Singapore, rush hour at the Mass Rapid Transit trains can involve more body contact than a full on TSA pat down, the train so packed you will know whether the guy next to you had garlic toast for breakfast. … Continue reading
Posted in Behavioral Economics and Public Policy
Tagged behavioral economics, public policy