Mario Macis, PhD

Mario Macis (Ph.D.) is a Professor of Economics at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He is also Core Faculty at the Hopkins Business of Health Initiative (HBHI), Affiliate Faculty at the JHU Berman Institute of Bioethics, and Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA, Bonn). Between 2016 and 2019, he served as Academic Program Director of Carey's MS in Health Care Management.

Prof. Macis is an applied economist with a broad range of interests at the intersection of markets, policy, and society, with a special emphasis on health-related issues. His main focus is on understanding the factors that influence people's support for markets and market-based solutions to social problems, attitudes toward regulation and technology, and the impact of these elements on economic and social outcomes. This includes a strong interest in exploring how incentives, social norms, and moral values shape individual choices and societal policies.  Prof. Macis’s work contributes to the fields of health, labor, development, market design, and managerial economics. 

Prior to joining Carey, he was a faculty member at the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business. He received is PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago, Department of Economics. Prof. Macis has been a consultant for the World Bank, the International Labor Organization, the National Marrow Donor Program, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organization. He also served in a National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine committee.

Education

• PhD, Economics, University of Chicago
• MA, Economics, University of Chicago
• BA (laurea), Economics and Social Disciplines (DES), Bocconi University

Research

Selected Publications

• “Is the Price Right? The Role of Economic Tradeoffs in Explaining Reactions to Price Surges” (with Julio Elias and Nicola Lacetera). R&R, Management Science, 2025.
• “Trust in AI-Assisted Health Systems and AI’s Trust in Humans” (with Madeline Sagona, Tinglong Dai and Michael Darden), NPJ health systems, 2025.
• "Paying for Kidneys? A Randomized Survey and Choice Experiment" (with Julio Elias and Nicola Lacetera), American Economic Review, 2019.
• "Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Firm Performance and Gender Gaps" (with Luca Flabbi, Andrea Moro, and Fabiano Schivardi), The Economic Journal, 2019.
• "Exports and Wages: Rent Sharing, Workforce Composition or Returns to Skills?" (with Fabiano Schivardi), Journal of Labor Economics, 2016.
• "Economic Rewards to Motivate Blood Donations" (with Nicola Lacetera and Robert Slonim), Science, 2013.
• "Will There Be Blood? Incentives and Displacement Effects in Pro-Social Behavior" (with Nicola Lacetera and Robert Slonim), American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2012.
• "Do Unemployment Benefits Promote or Hinder Job Reallocation?", Journal of Development Economics 2010, 93: 109-125 (with Tito Boeri).

Working Paper

• “Trust and Health Care Seeking Behavior" (with Michael Darden). NBER Working Paper N 32028.
• “The Role of Management Practices in the Quality of Health Care in Kenya” (a World Bank project; with Roberta Gatti (PI), Kathryn Gilman Andrews, Renata Lemos, Raissa Violeta Ebner)
• “Improving seasonal influenza vaccine uptake among health workers in Georgia” (with Katrine Habersaat et al. from WHO and the Georgian CDC).

Teaching

Current

• Business Microeconomics
• Applied Behavioral Strategy for Organizational and Social Impact
• Italy Global Immersion - Health Care in Europe: Models, Regulation and Business

Honors and Distinctions

• Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award, 2025.
• Johns Hopkins University Discovery Award, 2025.
• Dean’s Award for Faculty Excellence 2015-2018.
• Johns Hopkins University Discovery Award, 2016.
• Johns Hopkins University Catalyst Award, 2015.
• Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award, 2013.

Impact and Engagement

Policy

• Committee member, National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine committee on “A Fairer and More Equitable, Cost-Effective, and Transparent System of Donor Organ Procurement, Allocation, and Distribution”, 2020-2022.
• Expert panelist at Congressional staff briefing on “The kidney shortage: short-term salves and long-term solutions,” Rayburn House Office Building, October 4, 2019.
• Co-author of "Socio-economic impact assessment of Zika virus in Latin America and the Caribbean". Report of the United Nations Development Programme, 2017
• Expert panelist at Congressional staff briefing on the legal, ethical, and economic issues surrounding compensation for bone marrow, Russell Senate Office Building, November 15, 2016.

In the Media

•  EcoEchoes Podcast: Episode 15: Mario Macis on the importance of trust in healthcare-seeking behavior (November 19, 2024)
• The Alarmist Podcast: The Economics of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory  (May 16, 2024).
• Biden bid for federal workers to get COVID-19 shots prompts debate, Roll Call (July 28, 2021).
• Incentives for COVID vaccination, NPR Marketplace Podcast (May 12, 2021).
• A quirk in the law means that America's kidney shortage costs taxpayers. The Economist (February 22, 2020).
• Should We Pay People to Donate Blood? BBC News (November 15, 2018).
• When Women Run Companies, The Atlantic (December 27, 2016).
• How a Woman CEO Affects Sales and Salaries, Wall Street Journal (December 13, 2016).
• Without Matching Bone Marrow Donors, 3,000 Americans Die Each Year, Forbes (August 31, 2016).
• How To Convince People To Solve The Organ Shortage, Forbes (January 12, 2015).
• The Economics Behind Baltimore's Drug Trade, Fox5 News (November 13, 2015).
• Is There a Moral Way to Fix America's Kidney Shortage?, The Atlantic (January 22, 2015).
• How much can you get for selling your body (parts)?, The Guardian (January 13, 2014).