pacurry@uwaterloo.ca
519-888-4567 x42644
Office: HH 126
CV: Philip Curry
BA; MA; PhD (Western)
Areas of specialization: Applied microeconomic theory; Economics of crime; Family law; Optimal taxation; Industrial organization
Research interests
I am an applied micro theorist, focusing on law and economics and, more specifically, the economics of crime. My research examines both positive and normative questions in an attempt to better understand the criminal justice system.
Biography
I was born and raised in Toronto, which means I have never had the opportunity to celebrate a Stanley Cup victory for my favourite team. After high school, I left to attend the University of Western Ontario (UWO) because I thought the two hours travelling time between London and Toronto meant it would be convenient for me to go home, but inconvenient for my parents to "drop in". In my first year, I took economics because that's pretty much what everybody did - I actually knew nothing about the subject. I had, however, had the opportunity to take philosophy in high school, and was delighted to find out that economics was in fact an application of the philosophies that I had found most interesting in that high school class: the writings of Kant, Mill, and Locke among others. I also appreciated that economics was a very mathematical discipline, and therefore could say that answers to questions were objectively either correct or incorrect. After graduating with my BA, I attempted to enter the workforce while playing in a band. I quickly discovered that life outside the ivory tower was much less fun than within, so I returned to UWO to do an MA. Not knowing what to do with an MA, I stayed on for my PhD and have never regretted it.
Selected publications
- “Malice Aforethought,” (2015), Review of Law and Economics, Curry, Philip A.
- “Integrating Market Alternatives into the Economic Theory of Optimal Deterrence,” (2016), Economic Inquiry. Curry, Philip A. and Matthew Doyle
- “Crime, Apprehension and Clearance Rates: Panel Data Evidence from Canadian Provinces,” (2016), Canadian Journal of Economics, 49(2), Curry, Philip A., Anindya Sen and George Orlov.
- "Evolutionary Stability of Kantian Optimization," (2012), Hacienda Pública Española, IEF, vol. 200(1), pages 131-146, March. Curry, Philip A. and John E. Roemer.
- "Ticket Pricing and the Impression of Excess Demand." (2011),Economics Letters, 111, 40-42; Curry, Philip and Lutz Busch.
- "Crime, Punishment and Prejudice." (2009), Journal of Public Economics, 93, pp. 73-84, Curry, Philip and T. Klumpp.
- "What You Don't See Can't Hurt You: An Economic Analysis of Morality Laws." (2008), Canadian Journal of Economics, 41, pp. 583-594. Curry, Philip and S. Mongrain.
- "Decision Making Under Uncertainty and the Evolution of Interdependent Preferences." (2001), Journal of Economic Theory, 98, pp. 357-369. Curry, Philip.