W. Kip Viscusi

W. Kip Viscusi serves as University Distinguished Professor of Law, Economics, and Management across Vanderbilt University's Law School, College of Arts and Science (Economics Department), and Owen Graduate School of Management. His interdisciplinary work bridges legal scholarship, economic analysis, and public policy formulation.

Viscusi's primary research focuses on the value of statistical life methodology, where he has pioneered empirical approaches using labor market data and fatality risk analysis. His scholarship extends to tort law reform, particularly punitive damages structures and medical malpractice systems, and behavioral public choice examining how cognitive biases affect regulatory outcomes. Recent work addresses gun control policy, pandemic economics, and police accountability mechanisms.

His publication record demonstrates consistent leadership in risk regulation scholarship, with seminal contributions to understanding age variations in risk valuation, climate change policy evaluation, and recycling economics. Viscusi frequently employs

• Panel data econometrics
• Meta-analytic techniques
• Cost-benefit frameworks
• Behavioral economics insights

to analyze regulatory impacts across health, safety, and environmental domains.

Notable honors include his longstanding affiliation as NBER Research Associate. His advisory work includes significant contributions to Supreme Court amicus briefs on regulatory matters.

Viscusi maintains active research collaborations across disciplines, mentoring doctoral students in law and economics while directing policy-relevant studies on contemporary issues including opioid regulation, cannabis access laws, and constitutional challenges to damages systems.