Michael D. Frakes

Academic Fellow, 2009-11

Michael Frakes received a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2009 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2005, where he received the John M. Olin Prize for Outstanding Paper in Law and Economics. After graduating from law school, Michael worked as an associate with the Mergers and Acquisitions group of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. He returned to his PhD studies at MIT in early 2007 and was an Aging and Health Economics Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research from 2007-2009. He is generally interested in empirical research in health law and law and economics, with a particular interest in understanding how certain legal and financial incentives affect the decisions of physicians and other health care providers.

Michael's current research focuses on estimating the relationship between physician behavior and various elements of medical malpractice law (along with the associated effects on relevant health outcomes). In one such project, he is exploring the association between regional variations in physician practice styles and the geographical scope of state laws respecting the standards of care applied in medical malpractice actions – i.e., the distinction between laws requiring the use of local or national standards of care. In addition to providing a better understanding of these specific geographical relationships, he hopes that this research will also contribute to a more general understanding of the empirical relevancy of standard-of-care rules themselves.

Publications

The Deterrent Effect of Death Penalty Eligibility: Evidence from the Adoption of Child Murder Eligibility Factors, American Law and Economics Review, forthcoming, 2009 (with Matthew Harding).

Classified Boards and Firm Value, Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, 32(1), March 2007, 113-158.

Does Falling Smoking Lead to Rising Obesity?, Journal of Health Economics, 25(2), March 2006, 183-197 (with Jonathan Gruber).


Working Papers

Malpractice Standards of Care and Regional Variations in Physician Practice Styles

Research Interests

• • Health Law
  • Health Economics
  • Empirical Law and Economics
  • Tort Law
  • Medical Malpractice

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PhD, 2009
• Harvard Law School , J.D., cum laude, 2005

• 2007-09 NBER Aging and Health Economics Fellowship
• 2005, John M. Olin Prize for Outstanding Paper in Law & Economics
• 2002-2005, John M. Olin Fellow, Harvard Law School
• 2001-2005, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
• 2002-2003, MIT Presidential Graduate Fellowship

• 2005-2007 Associate, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP