Chad Cotti
Chairperson, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics Michigan State University
- East Lansing MI
Chad Cotti’s research fits broadly within health economics and public policy.
Media
Biography
Dr. Cotti’s research fits broadly within health economics and public policy, where he has studied a wide range of topics, including tobacco control policies, drunk driving, food stamp distribution, and several areas related to health outcomes. His work has appeared in several leading journals in economics, including the Review of Economics & Statistics, Social Science & Medicine, the Journal of Public Economics, the Journal of Health Economics, and the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. Dr. Cotti’s research has also been covered by many prominent media sources, such as The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Boston Globe, USA Today, The New York Times Magazine, and The Washington Post.
Dr. Cotti holds a B.S. in Quantitative Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, an M.P.A. from the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
UW MBA Consortium Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award
2020
Sniffen Faculty Governance Service Award, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
2020
Professor of the Year Award, College of Business, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
2019
Education
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Ph.D.
Economics
2006
University of Wisconsin - Madison
M.P.A.
Public Policy and Administration
2002
University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
B.S.
Economics (Quantitative)
2000
News
MSU names Chad Cotti new chair for the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics
Michigan State University online
2023-06-12
“I am excited to join the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics and the MSU family. AFRE is a global leader in applied economics, distinctive for its highly applied research mission and its mandate to produce impactful scholarship. It will be an honor to support and champion such an accomplished group of faculty, staff, scholars and students,” said Cotti.
New research shows vape taxes have led to increase in cigarette sales
FOX 11 News online
2022-09-19
"When these e-cigarette taxes go in, there is a notable increase in cigarette sales," University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Economics Professor Chad Cotti said.
High vape taxes could push more people to smoke conventional cigarettes, study shows
Yahoo! News
2022-02-16
Chad Cotti from University of Wisconsin-Oskosh’s Department of Economics led the 2020 study that looked at tax data, particularly the different taxes imposed on vape across the US.
Event Appearances
Featured Speaker
Winnebago County Medical Society Meetings 2022
Featured Speaker
TEMPO Society Meetings 2021
Featured Speaker
American Foundry Society – Annual Meetings 2020
Journal Articles
The Effect of E-Cigarette Flavor Bans on Tobacco Use
National Bureau of Economic Research2024
Advocates for sales restrictions on flavored e-cigarettes argue that flavors appeal to young people and lead them down a path to nicotine addiction. This study is among the first to examine the effect of state and local restrictions on the sale of flavored electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products on youth and young adult tobacco use. Using data from the State and National Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, we find that the adoption of an ENDS flavor restriction reduces frequent and everyday youth ENDS use by 1.2 to 2.5 percentage points. Auxiliary analyses of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System show similar effects on ENDS use for young adults ages 18-20. However, we also detect evidence of an unintended effect of ENDS flavor restrictions that is especially clear among 18-20-yearolds: inducing substitution to combustible cigarette smoking.
The Effects of Tobacco 21 Laws on Smoking and Vaping: Evidence from Panel Data and Biomarkers
National Bureau of Economic Research2024
We use data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco Use and Health (PATH), a longitudinal data set including self-reported and biomarker measures of tobacco use, to examine the effects of state-level tobacco 21 (T21) laws on smoking and vaping. T21 laws reduce self-reported cigarette smoking among 18-to-20 year olds, concentrated in males. Initial non-users who “age-out” of treatment are less likely to subsequently initiate self-reported smoking or vaping. Treated smokers are less likely to buy their own cigarettes and more likely to buy cigarettes in a different state. Biomarker results are mixed, and we find some evidence of a reduction in nicotine exposure but less evidence for a reduction in exposure to tobacco.
Standardising the measurement of e-cigarette taxes in the USA, 2010–2020
Tobacco Control2023
Introduction E-cigarette taxes have been enacted by 30 states through April 2020. E-cigarette tax schemas vary, in contrast to cigarette taxes in the USA that are levied almost exclusively as excise taxes per pack. Some states use excise taxes on liquid and containers, others ad valorem taxes on wholesale prices and others sales taxes. It is therefore difficult to understand the relative magnitudes of these e-cigarette taxes and the overall e-cigarette tax size relative to the cigarette tax size. Objective To create and publish a database of state and local quarterly e-cigarette taxes from 2010 to 2020, standardised as the rate per millilitre of fluid.
The effects of e-cigarette taxes on e-cigarette prices and tobacco product sales: evidence from retail panel data
Journal of Health Economics2022
We estimate the effect of e-cigarette tax rates on e-cigarette prices, e-cigarette sales, and sales of other tobacco products using NielsenIQ Retail Scanner data from 2013 to 2019. We find that 90% of e-cigarette taxes are passed on to consumer retail prices. We then estimate reduced form and instrumental variables regressions to examine the effects of e-cigarette and cigarette taxes and prices on sales. We calculate an e-cigarette own-price elasticity of -2.2 and particularly large elasticity of demand for flavored e-cigarettes. Further, we document a cigarette own-price elasticity of -0.4 and positive cross-price elasticities of demand between e-cigarettes and cigarettes, suggesting economic substitution.
Government funding incentives and felony charge rates
Journal of Crime and Justice2022
Using data from the State of Wisconsin’s Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP), we find evidence that Wisconsin’s District Attorneys decisions on how to file criminal complaints (charges) changed meaningfully in 2001 and 2009. These changes align with changes in the State’s funding process for District Attorneys (DAs). Specifically, after the introduction and alterations of a formula-based funding process, which is determined by charges filed, we find an increase in the number of felony charges. Further, we only observe this increase where prosecutorial discretion exists. Finally, relative to misdemeanors, we find a discontinuous increase in charges that is consistent with the formula. In summary, we find evidence consistent with a relationship between DA funding policies and DA behavior.
