Isaac Ehrlich
Chairman of the Department
  • SUNY and UB Distinguished Professor of Economics
  • Chair, Department of Economics
  • Melvin H. Baker Professor of American Enterprise
  • Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
  • Director, Center of Human Capital, Tecnology
    transfer, and Economic Growth and Development
  • Editor-in-Chief Journal of Human Capital
Contact Information

Department of Economics
415B Fronczak Hall
Phone: (716) 645-2121 ext. 422

School of Management
238/234b Jacobs
Phone: (716) 645-3287
Dr. Ehrlich's Personal Website
E-mail: mgtehrl@acsu.buffalo.edu
Education
  • Ph.D. Columbia University
  • B.A. Hebrew University
    Honorary Doctorate, Univerisity of Orleans, France (2002)
Research Interests and Contributions
Recent Working Papers
  • Human Capital and Income Distribution
  • Economic Growth and Development
  • Economics of Health and Value of Life Savings
  • Social Security and population aging
  • Economics of information and uncertainty
  • Economics of crime and justice
  • Law and Economics
Selected Publications
  • "Market Insurance, Self-Insurance, and Self-Protection," Journal of Political Economy (1972)

  • "Participation in Illegitimate Activities: An Economic Analysis," Journal of Political Economy  (1973)

  • "The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: A Question of Life and Death," American  Economic  Review  (1975)

  • "Intergenerational Trade, Longevity, and Economic Growth" (with F. Lui), Journal of Political Economy (1991)

  • "Productivity Growth and Firm Ownership" (with G. Gallais-Hamonno, Z. Liu and R. Lutter), Journal of Political Economy (1994)

  • "Crime, Punishment, and the Market for Offenses," Journal of Economic Perspectives (1996)

  • "The Problem of Population and Growth: A Survey of the Literature from Malthus to Models of Endogenous Population and Endogenous Growth," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control (1997)

  • "Social Security and the Real Economy: An Inquiry into Some Neglected Issues" (with J. Zhong), American Economic Review (1998)

  • "Sensitivity Analyses of the Deterrence Hypothesis: Let’s Keep the Econ in Econometrics" (with Z. Liu),  the Journal of Law and Economics, (1999) 

  • "Bureaucratic Corruption and Endogenous Economic Growth" (with F.T Lui), Journal of Political Economy (1999)

  • "Uncertain Lifetime, Life Protection, and the Value of Life Saving", Journal of Health Economics (2000)

  • “Explaining Diversities in Age-Specific Life Expectancies and Values of Life Saving: A Numerical Analysis”, with Yong Yin, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 31(2) 2005, 129-162;

  • “Endogenous Fertility, Longevity, and Economic Dynamics: Using a Malthusian Framework to Account for the Historical Evidence on Population and Economic Growth”, with Jinyoung Kim, Journal of Asian Economics, issue 15 (6) 2005, 789-806;

  • The Economics of Crime (co-edited with Z. Liu), Edward Elgar Publishing, (2006)“

    Social Security and Demographic trends: Theory and Evidence From the International Experience”, forthcoming in the Review of Economic Dynamics, 2007.
Other Contributions and Distinctions
  • The Economics of Crime (editor, with Z. Liu). A three- volume book of readings; selected as part of the collection: "International Library of Critical Writings in Economics" (Mark Blaug, general editor), Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., London , England . June 2006;

  • Named SUNY Distinguished Professor, March 2006, and UB Distinguished Professor (2002);

  • Named NYSTAR Distinguished Professor of 2005, by NYSTAR’s Faculty Development program, in an award ceremony held March 6, 2006 at UB;

  • Awarded faculty development grant from the New York Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research, $750,000 with matching funds from UB, 2006;

  • Awarde Honorary Doctorate from the University of Orleans (2002);

  • Selected to Who’s Who in Economics first edition and all subsequent editions;

  • Among the 100 most cited economists in recent rankings;

  • Editor of National Health Policy: What Role for Government (1983) and The Problem of Development, a 1990 supplement to the Journal of Political Economy;

  • Member of the U.S. Presidential Health Advisory Group (1980) and the Hong Kong Government Health Services Committee (1993-94);

  • Recipient of over $1.5 million in NSF and USAID grants;

  • Selected for membership in the prestigious Mont Pelerin Society by its Board of Trustees, Fall 1998. 

  • Appointed Honorary professor at the City University of Hong Kong, September 1999.