Directory Profile
Richard Butler
Adjunct Faculty
Department of Biomedical Informatics
Richard J. Butler graduated with a B.A. in economics from the University of Utah, before pursuing his Ph.d. in economics from the University of Chicago, which he received in 1979. His first full time academic appointment was at Cornell University (1978-1982), followed by academic appointments at Brigham Young University (1982-1994), the University of Minnesota (1994-2000), and Brigham Young University again (2000-present). He received the Young Scholar and Maeser Research Awards when at Brigham Young University, was elected to the Risk Theory Society in 1983 and the National Academy of Social Insurance in 1996, was named the C. Arthur Williams, Jr. Professor of Insurance at the University of Minnesota in 1994 and the Martha Jane Knowlton Coray University Professor at Brigham Young University in 2004.
Butler has been in “Who's Who in Economics” since 1999. In insurance, his books/articles have received the Kulp-Wright (best book in insurance), the Kemper (best article in Risk Management Review), and the Mehr (twice for best article standing the test of time) awards.
His 90-plus really boring articles in insurance, workers' compensation, discrimination, income inequality and education, can't extinguish a candle nearly as quickly as his book, fetchingly entitled The Economics of Social Insurance and Employee Benefits , which some have claimed to be a work of fiction but which Butler intended to be a cure for insomnia (perhaps his book, Safety Practices, Firm Culture, and Workplace Injuries would work well as a substitute). In a pinch, however, any of his journal articles work as well. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Risk and Insurance and Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. He served as President of the Risk Theory Society in 1999, and was elected a life member of the Society in 2002. He is not sure what he wants to be when he grows up.
Contact Info
Phone: 801.473.6013
Email: richard_butler@byu.edu
Research/Areas of Expertise
- Workers compensation
- Disability
- Discrimination
- Econometric applications
- Health insurance
Research Center Involvement
- Center for Health Information & Research (CHIR)
Selected Publications
“Satisfaction with Low Back Pain Care” (with William G. Johnson) forthcoming at The Spine Journal
“Timing Makes A Difference: Early Employer Intervention and Low Back Pain” (with William Johnson and Brenda Gray) forthcoming, Professional Case Management Journal.
“It Pays To Be Nice: Employer-Worker Relationships and the Management of Back Pain Claims” (with William Johnson and Pierre Cote), Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2007, vol 49, no 2, February; pp 214-225.
“JRI, JF and the Internet: Co-Authors, New Authors, and Empirical Research”, forthcoming in the Journal of Risk and Insurance.
“The Impact of Medicaid Disenrollment on Health Care Utilization and Cost,” (with Mary Rimsza and William Johnson), Pediatrics, forthcoming.
“Disability Incentives,” published in the Encyclopedia of Pain, Springer Verlag, October 2006.
“Upper extremity disorders in the workplace: Costs and outcomes beyond the first return to work,” Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, September, 2006 (with Margie Baldwin)
(with Bill Johnson and Margie Baldwin), “The Effects of Occupational Injuries After Returns to Work: Work Absences and the Losses of On-the-Job Productivity,” Journal of Risk and Insurance, June 2006, vol. 73, 2, pp 309-334.
(co-author, Yong-Seung Park), Safety Practices, Firm Culture, and Workplace Injuries, (Kalmazoo, MI, UpJohn Institute for Employment Research, 2005).
(with Benjamin W. Cowan and Sebastian Nilsson), “From Obscurity to Bestseller: Examining the Impact of Oprah’s Book Club Selections,” Publishing Research Quarterly, Winter 2005, vol 20, no. 4, pp. 23-34.
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