Benjamin Hansen is an associate professor of Economics of University of Oregon, research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
Broadly his research concerns issues related to crime, health, and education. In previously published research he has investigated the effects of policing levels on traffic fatalities, how DUI punishments and sanctions affect future drunk driving, the effects of medical marijuana policies on teen drug use and traffic safety, and how high school dropout laws affect student victimization. He is currently investigating how incentives for good behavior in prisons affect inmate misconduct and drug use, the effects of mandatory court transfers on juvenile crime, and if “ban-the-box” laws have the unintended consequence of decreasing employment of young male minorities.
He has published in leading economics and public policy journals including the American Economic Review, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, and the Journal of Law and Economics, among others.