Barak D. Richman
Edgar P. and Elizabeth C. Bartlett Distinguished Professor of Law
Barak Richman’s primary research interests include the economics of contracting, new institutional economics, antitrust, and healthcare policy. His work has been published in the Columbia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Law and Social Inquiry, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Health Affairs. In 2006, he co-edited with Clark Havighurst a symposium volume of Law and Contemporary Problems entitled "Who Pays? Who Benefits? Distributional Issues in Health Care,” and his book Stateless Commerce was published by Harvard University Press in 2017.
Richman represented the NFL Coaches Association in an amicus curiae brief in American Needle v. The Nat’l Football League, which was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2010 and again in Brady v. The Nat’l Football League in 2011. His recent work challenging illegal practices by Rabbinical Associations was featured in the New York Times. His work is available at http://ssrn.com/author=334149.
Richman also is on the Health Sector Management faculty at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and is a Senior Fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics. He won Duke Law School's Blueprint Award in 2005 and was named Teacher of the Year in 2010.
Richman has an A.B., magna cum laude, from Brown University, a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied under Nobel Laureate in Economics Oliver Williamson. He served as a law clerk to Judge Bruce M. Selya of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and from 1994-1996 he handled international trade legislation as a staff member of the United States Senate Committee on Finance, then chaired by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
- Edgar P. and Elizabeth C. Bartlett Distinguished Professor of Law, Law School, Duke University 2013
- Professor of Law, Law School, Duke University 2008
- Professor of Business Administration, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University 2014
- Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, Duke Science & Society, Initiatives 2017
- Executive Core Faculty Member, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke - Margolis Center For Health Policy, Initiatives 2019
Contact Information
- Duke Law School 210 Science Dr, Duke Box 90362, Durham, NC 27708
- Duke Law School Room 4176, Duke Box 90362, Durham, NC 27708
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richman@law.duke.edu
(919) 613-7244
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See the Duke Law profile page
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View this faculty member's publications on the Duke Law web site
- Background
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Education, Training, & Certifications
- J.D., Harvard University 2002
- M.A., University of California - Berkeley 1999
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Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Associate Professor of Law, Law School, Duke University 2006 - 2008
- Assistant Professor of Law, Law School, Duke University 2003 - 2006
- Recognition
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In the News
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MAR 9, 2022 Sanford School Ways & Means Podcast -
OCT 4, 2018 Bass Connections -
APR 2, 2018 Fuqua School of Business -
FEB 20, 2018 Margolis Center for Health Policy -
AUG 8, 2017 School of Law -
NOV 3, 2016 the New York Times -
JUN 27, 2016 -
MAY 26, 2016 St. Louis Public Radio -
MAY 26, 2016 St. Louis Public Radio -
MAY 26, 2016 Politico Pro -
MAY 26, 2016 Politico Pro -
MAY 28, 2015 The Wall Street Journal -
APR 3, 2015 The News & Observer -
APR 3, 2015 the News & Observer -
MAR 5, 2015 New England Journal of Medicine -
DEC 5, 2014 Harvard Business Review -
SEP 9, 2014 Politico -
OCT 2, 2013 WRAL.com
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- Expertise
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Global Scholarship
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Expertise
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- Research
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External Relationships
- CA Franchise Tax Board
- Fox Rothschild LLP
- Stanford University
- sports rehab consulting
- Publications & Artistic Works
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Selected Publications
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Books
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Richman, Barak D., Stuart Minor Benjamin, and James B. Speta. Internet and Telecommunications Regulation (Accepted). Carolina Academic Press, 2023.
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Richman, B. Stateless Commerce: Diamond Dealers, Ethnic Trading Networks, and the Persistence of Relational Exchange (Accepted). Harvard University Press, 2017.Link to Item
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Academic Articles
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Richman, B. “Shopping for Healthcare: Can We Be Good Consumers?” Health Management, Policy and Innovation 7, no. 2 (2022).
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Richman, B., D. Markovits, and R. Loo. “Consumer Law as an Axis of Economic Inequality.” Boston University Law Review 102, no. 4 (2022): 1169–84.
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Richman, B., R. Kaplan, J. Kohli, D. Purcell, M. Shah, and K. Schulman. “Billing and Insurance–Related Administrative Costs: A Cross-National Analysis.” Health Affairs 41, no. 8 (2022): 1098–1106.
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Richman, B., S. Mullangi, and M. Agrawal. “Noncompete Agreements — The Need for a Refresh.” New England Journal of Medicine 387, no. 6 (2022): 486–88.
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Richman, Barak D., Daniel III, and Kevin Schulman. “The Rise and Potential of Physician Unions.” Jama 328, no. 7 (2022): 617–18.
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Richman, Barak D., Daniel S. III, and Kevin A. Schulman. “Collective Bargaining: Physician Unions and Their Implications for Health Care.” Health Services Research 57, no. 6 (2022): 1214–17.Link to Item
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Richman, Barak D., and Kevin A. Schulman. “Restoring Physician Authority in an Era of Hospital Dominance.” Jama 328, no. 24 (2022): 2400–2401.Link to Item
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Richman, B., D. Scheinker, A. Milstein, and K. Schulman. “Reducing Administrative Costs in US Health Care: Assessing Single Payer and Its Alternatives.” Health Services Research 56, no. 4 (2021): 615–25.
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Richman, B., K. Schulman, and M. Greicius. “Will CMS Find Aducanumab Reasonable and Necessary for Alzheimer Disease After FDA Approval?” Jama, 2021.
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Richman, B., and R. Herzlinger. “Cutting the Gordian Knot of Employee Health Care Benefits and Costs: A Corporate Model Built on Employee Choice.” Health Affairs Forefront, 2021.
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Richman, B., and S. Schwarcz. “Macromedical Regulation.” Ohio State Law Journal 82, no. 5 (2021): 727–77.
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Richman, B., and S. Schwarcz. “On Skepticism, Modesty, and Embracing Those With Whom We Disagree: A Rejoinder.” Ohio State Law Journal 82, no. 5 (2021): 869–77.
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Richman, B. “Religious Freedom Through Market Freedom: The Sherman Act and the Marketplace for Religion.” William & Mary Law Review 60, no. 4 (2019): 1523–43.
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Richman, B., K. Kadakia, and S. Shah. “The Shadows of Life: Medicaid's Failure of Health Care's Moral Test.” Annals of Health Law 28, no. 2 (2019): 163–94.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and R. Herzlinger. “Thinking Outside the Box (12): The Benefits of Increased Transparency in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance for the 180 Million Insured (In preparation),” 2019.Link to Item
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Richman, B., W. Mitchell, E. Vidal, and K. Schulman. “Static and Dynamic Costs and Benefits of Pharmaceutical Blockbuster Acquisitions: Reports from the Front Line (Accepted).” Loyola University Chicago Law Journal, 2019.
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Richman, B., P. Tseng, R. Kaplan, M. Shah, and K. Schulman. “Administrative Costs Associated With Physician Billing and Insurance-Related Activities at an Academic Health Care System.” Jama 319, no. 7 (2018): 691–97.
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Richman, B., and T. Greaney. “Consolidation in Provider and Insurer Markets: Enforcement Issues and Priorities.” Aai’S Series on Competition in the Delivery and Payment of Healthcare Services Part I (2018).Link to Item
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Richman, B., and T. Greaney. “Promoting Competition in Healthcare Enforcement and Policy: Framing an Active Competition Agenda.” Aai’S Series on Competition in the Delivery and Payment of Healthcare Services Part II (2018).Link to Item
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Richman, B. “An Autopsy of Cooperation: Diamond Dealers and the Limits of Trust-Based Exchange.” Journal of Legal Analysis 9, no. 2 (2017): 247–83.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “A Coasean View of Stateless Commerce.” Man and the Economy 4, no. 2 (2017).
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Richman, B., and A. Schulman. “Battling the Chargemaster: A Simple Remedy to Balance Billing for Unavoidable Out-Of-Network Care.” American Journal of Managed Care 23 (2017): e100–105.
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Richman, B., and K. Schulman. “A Novel Look at Antitrust Analysis in Health Insurance Markets.” Antitrust Chronicle, 2017, 1–7.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and R. Boxer. “Achieving Universal Coverage without Turning to a Single Payer: Lessons from 3 Other Countries.” Journal of the American Medical Association 317, no. 4 (2017): 1409–10.
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Richman, B., and R. Herzlinger. “Changing the Tax Code to Create Consumer-Driven Health Insurance Competition (In preparation),” 2017.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and W. Schulman. “Pharmaceutical M&A Activity: Effects on Prices, Innovation, and Competition.” Loyola University Chicago Law Review 48 (2017): 787–819.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and W. Schulman. “Pharmaceutical M&A Activity: Effects on Prices, Innovation, and Competition.” Loyola University Chicago Law Journal 48 (2017): 787–819.Link to Item
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Clough, Jeffrey D., Barak D. Richman, and Seth W. Glickman. “Outlook for Alternative Payment Models in Fee-for-Service Medicare.” Jama 314, no. 4 (July 28, 2015): 341–42. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.8047.Full Text Link to Item
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Richman, B. “The Mechanics of Statelessness: Peering into the Diamond Industry and the Institutions of Trust-Based Exchange.” Inequality, Trust, and Ethics Conference: London 2015, 2015.
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Richman, B., M. Huesch, and M. Ong. “Could Data Broker Information Threaten Physician Prescribing and Professional Behavior? (In preparation),” 2015.Link to Item
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Richman, B., R. Herzlinger, and K. Schulman. “Market-Based Solutions to Antitrust Threats-- The Rejection of the Partners Settlement.” New England Journal of Medicine, 2015.
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Richman, B., and M. Helfland. “The Challenge of Co-Religionist Commerce.” Duke Law Journal 64 (2015): 769–822.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and S. Usselman. “Elhauge on Tying: Vindicated by History.” Tulsa Law Review 49, no. 3 (2014): 689–711.Link to Item
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Goldstein, Adam O., Kathleen K. Barnhouse, Anthony J. Viera, James A. Tulsky, and Barak D. Richman. “Assessing competency for concealed-weapons permits--the physician's role.” N Engl J Med 368, no. 24 (June 13, 2013): 2251–53. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1302795.Full Text Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Saving the First Amendment from Itself: Relief from the Sherman Act Against the Rabbinic Cartels.” Pepperdine Law Review 39 (2013): 1347–70.Link to Item
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Richman, B., W. Mitchell, and K. Schulman. “Organizational Innovation in the Health Sector: Cost and Quality Solutions for Health Policy.” Health Management, Policy and Innovation 1, no. 3 (2013): 36–44.
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Richman, B. “Valuing Health Care: Improving Productivity and Quality,” 2012.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Concentration in Health Care Markets: Chronic Problems and Better Solutions,” 2012 (2012).Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Norms and Law: Putting the Horse Before the Cart.” Duke Law Journal 62 (2012): 739–66.Link to Item
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Richman, B., D. Grossman, C. Chepke, and F. Sloan. “Mental Health Care Consumption and Outcomes: Considering Preventative Strategies Across Race and Class (In preparation),” 2012.Link to Item
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Richman, B., M. Hall, and K. Schulman. “Overbilling and Informed Financial Consent--A Contractual Solution.” New England Journal of Medicine 367 (2012): 396–97.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and D. Schmelzer. “When Money Grew on Trees: The Untold Story of Lucy v. Zehmer.” Duke Law Journal 61 (2012): 1511–62.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and M. Huesch. “Hidden Costs? Malpractice Allegations and Defensive Medicine Among Cardiac Surgeons (In preparation),” 2012.Link to Item
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Havighurst, C. “Who Pays? Who Benefits? Unfairness in American Health Care.” Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy 25 (2011): 493–526.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Contracts Meet Henry Ford.” Hofstra Law Review 40 (2011): 77–86.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and C. Havighurst. “The Provider-Monopoly Problem in Health Care.” Oregon Law Review 89 (2011): 847–83.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and K. Schulman. “A Cautious Path Forward on Accountable Care Organizations.” Journal of the American Medical Association 305, no. 6 (2011): 602–3.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “On Doctors and Judges.” Duke Law Journal 58 (2009): 1731–41.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “The Antitrust of Reputation Mechanisms: Institutional Economics and Concerted Refusals to Deal.” Virginia Law Review 95 (2009): 325–87.Link to Item
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Richman, B., W. Mitchell, and K. Schulman. “Searching for Industry Modernization.” Modern Physician 2009 (2009).
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Richman, B., and A. Meese. “A Careful Examination of the Live Nation-Ticketmaster Merger” 2009 (2009).Link to Item
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Richman, B., and A. Chatterji. “Understanding the 'Corporate' in Corporate Social Responsibility.” Harvard Law & Policy Review 2 (2008): 33–52.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and J. Macher. “Transaction Cost Economics: An Assessment of Empirical Research in the Social Sciences.” Business & Politics 10 (2008).Link to Item
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Richman, Barak D., Krishna Udayakumar, Will Mitchell, and Kevin A. Schulman. “Lessons from India in organizational innovation: a tale of two heart hospitals.” Health Aff (Millwood) 27, no. 5 (2008): 1260–70. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.27.5.1260.Full Text Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Insurance Expansions: Do They Hurt Those They Are Designed to Help?” Health Affairs 26 (2007): 1345–57.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Antitrust and Nonprofit Hospital Mergers: A Return to Basics.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 156 (2007): 121–50.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and C. Murray. “Rebuilding Illinois Brick: A Functionalist Approach to the Indirect Purchaser Rule.” Southern California Law Review 81 (2007): 69–110.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Fifty Years of Community Service: A Tribute to Mel Shimm.” Law & Contemporary Problems 69 (2006): xi–xiii.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “How Community Institutions Create Economic Advantage: Jewish Diamond Merchants in New York.” Law & Social Inquiry 31 (2006): 383–420.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and C. Boerner. “A Transaction Cost Economizing Approach to Regulation: Understanding the NIMBY Problem and Improving Regulatory Responses.” Yale Journal on Regulation 23 (2006): 29–76.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and C. Havighurst. “Distributive Injustice(s) in American Health Care.” Law & Contemporary Problems 69, no. 4 (2006): 7–82.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and C. Havighurst. “Foreword: Health Policy's Fourth Dimension.” Law & Contemporary Problems 69 (2006): 2–6.Link to Item
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“The Corrosive Combination of Nonprofit Monopolies and U.S.-Style Health Insurance: Implications for Antitrust and Merger Policy.” Law & Contemporary Problems 69 (2006): 139–58.Link to Item
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Richman, B., J. Weinstock, and J. Mehta. “A Bridge, a Tax Revolt, and the Struggle to Industrialize: The Story and Legacy of 'Rockingham County v. Luten Bridge Co.'.” North Carolina Law Review 84 (2006): 1841–1912.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Behavioral Economics and Health Policy: Understanding Medicaid's Failure.” Cornell Law Review 90 (2005): 705–68.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and J. Macher. “Organizational Responses to Discontinuous Innovations: A Casy Study Approach.” International Journal of Innovation Management 8 (2004): 87–113.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Firms, Courts, and Reputation Mechanisms: Towards a Positive Theory of Private Ordering.” Columbia Law Review 104 (2004): 2328–67.Link to Item
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Richman, B., M. Bergara, and P. Spiller. “Modeling Supreme Court Strategic Decision Making: The Congressional Constraint.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 28 (2003): 247–80.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Mandating Negotiations to Solve the NIMBY Problem: A Creative Regulatory Response.” Ucla Journal of Environmental Law & Policy 20 (2002): 223–36.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Community Enforcement of Informal Contracts: Jewish Diamond Merchants in New York” 2002 (2002).Link to Item
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Book Sections
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Richman, B., and A. Weiss. “Professional Self-Regulation in Medicine: Will the Rise of Intelligent Tools Mean the End to Peer Review?” In The Future of Medical Device Regulation: Innovation and Protection, 244–55. Cambridge University Press, 2022.
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Richman, B. “New Institutional Economics.” In Oxford Handbook of New Private Law. Oxford University Press, 2020.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and D. Libenson. “Right-Skilling: Rabbis and the Rabbinic Role for a New Century.” In Keeping Faith in Rabbis: A Community Conversation on Rabbinic Education, 30–46. Avenida, 2014.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Contracts and Cartels: Reconciling Competition and Development Policy.” In Competition Law and Development, 2013.
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Richman, B. “Contracts and Cartels: Reconciling Competition and Development Policy.” In Competition Law and Development, 155–66, 2013.
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Richman, B., F. Sloan, and D. Grossman. “Fragmentation in Mental Health Benefits and Services: A Preliminary Examination into Consumption and Outcomes.” In The Fragmentation of U.S. Health Care: Causes and Solutions, 2010.Link to Item
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Richman, B., and J. Wiener. “Mechanism Choice.” In Research Handbook on Public Choice and Public Law, 363–96, 2010.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Ethnic Networks, Extralegal Certainty, and Globalisation: Peering Into the Diamond Industry.” In Contractual Certainty in International Trade: Empirical Studies and Theoretical Debates on Institutional Support for Global Economic Exchanges, 31–49. Hart Publishing, 2009.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “The King of Rockingham County and the Original Bridge to Nowhere.” In Contracts Stories, 306–36, 2007.Link to Item
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Other Articles
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Richman, Barak D. “Hospitals Are a Problem. Competition Is the Answer.” Politico, 2023.
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Richman, B., and A. Mehrotra. “A Cancer Patient’s Brutal Commute.” Wall Street Journal, 2021.
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Richman, B., and F. Fukuyama. “How to Quiet the Megaphones of Facebook, Google and Twitter.” Wall Street Journal, 2021.
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Richman, B., and R. Herzlinger. “Preparing Hospitals for the Next Pandemic.” Harvard Business Review, 2021.
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Richman, B. “Surprise Medical Bills Continue During Coronavirus Time, and Congress Still Misses Major Points.” The Conversation, 2020.
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Richman, B., and T. Miller. “Early Lessons From COVID-19 We Already Should Have Learned,” 2020.
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Richman, B., A. Weiss, and L. Sato. “How AI Will Change the Regulation and Organization of Medicine.” Health Affairs Forefront, 2020.
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Richman, B., F. Fukuyama, and A. Goel. “How to Save Democracy From Technology: Ending Big Tech’s Information Monopoly.” Foreign Affairs, 2020.
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Richman, B., and B. Herzlinger. “Give Employees Cash to Purchase Their Own Insurance.” Harvard Business Review, 2020.
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Richman, Barak D. ““Uncut Gems” Celebrates Manhattan’s Diamond District, a Neighborhood That’s a Window Into the Past.” Salon.Com, 2020.
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Richman, B., K. Schulman, and A. Milstein. “Stop Outrageous Air Ambulance Bills by Disclosing the Transport Price.” Stat, 2019.
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Richman, B., and K. Schulman. “Toward an Effective Innovation Agenda.” New England Journal of Medicine, 2019.
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Richman, B. “Health Regulation for the Digital Age — Correcting the Mismatch.” New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
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Richman, Barak D., and Kevin Schulman. “Mergers Between Health Insurers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers Could Be Bad for Your Health.” Stat News, 2018.
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Richman, B., E. Ludmir, and M. Elahi. “The Physician as Dictator.” The Lancet, 2017.
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Richman, B., and K. Schulman. “What U.S. Hospitals Can Still Learn From India’s Private Heart Hospitals: Cost-Cutting Lessons Are Clear, So What Stands in Our Way?” Nejm Catalyst, 2017.
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Richman, B., R. Herzlinger, and R. Boxer. “How Health Care Hurts Your Paycheck.” New York Times, 2016.
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Richman, B. “Religious Freedom Debate Upends Balance Between Establishment, Free Exercise Clauses.” News & Observer, 2015.
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Richman, B. “How to Make Health Care Accountable When We Don't Know What Works.” Harvard Business Review, 2014.
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Richman, B. “On the Constitutionality of Health Care Reform.” North Carolina Medical Journal, 2010.Link to Item
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Richman, B. “Rabbi Searches Are Tough, but Are They Illegal?” The Forward, 2010.
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Richman, B. “Lessons from the First Bridge to Nowhere.” News & Observer, 2008.
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Richman, B., and C. Havighurst. “Who Pays for Health Insurance?” Wall Street Journal, 2007.
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Richman, B., and J. Pauwelyn. “Blood Diamonds' Many Facets (Op-ed).” News & Observer, 2007.
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Richman, B. “The Unintended Consequences of United States v. Nektalov.” New York Law Journal, 2006.
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Richman, B. “The Adventures of Keeping Kosher in Vietnam.” New York Times, 1997.
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Reports
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Richman, B., and A. al. “N.C. Medicaid Reform: A Bipartisan Path Forward.” Duke University Bass Connections Program, 2017.Link to Item
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Richman, B., R. Berenson, G. Hoagland, D. Dranove, P. Ginsburg, S. Glied, J. Goldsmith, et al. “Addressing Pricing Power in Health Care Markets: Principles and Policy Options to Strengthen and Shape Markets.” National Academy of Social Insurance, 2015.
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- Teaching & Mentoring
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Recent Courses
- LAW 205: Antitrust 2023
- LAW 548: Antitrust Course Plus 2023
- MMCI 557: Principles of Strategy 2023
- QM 545QB: Ethics and Legal Issues in Business Analytics 2023
- QM 723QH: Ethics and Legal Issues in Health Analytics 2023
- LAW 205: Antitrust 2022
- LAW 548: Antitrust Course Plus 2022
- LAW 640: Independent Research 2022
- MMCI 557: Principles of Strategy 2022
- QM 545QB: Ethics and Legal Issues in Business Analytics 2022
- QM 723QH: Ethics and Legal Issues in Health Analytics 2022
- LAW 170: Property 2021
- LAW 307: Internet and Telecommunications Law and Policy 2021
- LAW 640: Independent Research 2021
- QM 545QB: Ethics and Legal Issues in Business Analytics 2021
- QM 723QH: Ethics and Legal Issues in Health Analytics 2021
- Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
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Outreach & Engaged Scholarship
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