David Beheshti

David Beheshti is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), affiliated with the Alvarez College of Business. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin and undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Economics from Brigham Young University. His research focuses on health economics, labor economics, and public finance, with a particular emphasis on the impacts of public policy on health outcomes and economic conditions, especially in the context of the U.S. opioid crisis.

Beheshti's work has examined how opioid availability influences labor market participation, surgical decision-making, and healthcare practices. He has also studied physician behavior, geographic variation in drug prescribing, and the unintended consequences of pharmaceutical innovations such as the HIV/AIDS treatment HAART. His research on abuse-deterrent opioids revealed linkages between OxyContin reformulation and increased hepatitis transmission due to shifts to heroin use.

He teaches econometrics at both undergraduate and graduate levels. His recent studies include analyses of extreme weather migration patterns and the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in curbing HIV transmission. His findings highlight critical trade-offs in policy design, such as balancing opioid accessibility with public health risks.