Mark Shepard

Mark Shepard is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). His research focuses on health care markets, particularly competition and policy design in health insurance markets, including public programs like Medicaid and the ACA exchanges. He holds a PhD in Economics (2015) and an A.B. in Applied Math (2008) from Harvard University. Before his academic role, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at NBER and worked at the Brookings Institution.

Teaching includes courses on public policy, health economics, and poverty analysis. His work examines topics such as insurance market regulation, enrollment barriers, and the economic implications of health care policies. Key affiliations include the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at HKS and NBER. Research highlights include studies on premium impacts, active purchasing policies, and universal coverage frameworks.

Recent articles explore insurer responses to market regulations, the 'two-margin problem' in insurance markets, and the role of administrative burdens in coverage decisions. His policy-oriented work advocates for structured social safety nets and equitable healthcare financing models.