About Me

Welcome to my website! My name is Austin Knies. In summer 2024, I will be joining Abt Global as a Health Economics Senior Analyst. I received a Ph.D. in Economics from Indiana University in the spring of 2024. My research interests are in applied microeconomics and specifically in health economics and information frictions. In my work, I’ve focused on the role of information in health care in settings such as telehealth and telemedicine usage, price transparency regulation, and choice of insurance coverage.

I grew up in West Monroe, Louisiana, and I received a B.S. in Mathematics and a B.S. in Business Economics from Louisiana Tech University in 2017.

Outside of work, I love spending time with my wife Hannah, who is a middle school Language Arts/STEAM teacher and fabrication lab facilitator, and my dog Olan, who is asleep on the couch. Along with being dog parents, my wife and I are also foster parents and have worked with teenagers in foster care.

I enjoy shooting hoops, hiking, running, rock climbing, traveling, and trying new foods. I’m a big fan of NBA basketball and root for the Indiana Pacers.

A fun fact about me: prior to starting a Ph.D., I spent time performing, booking, and promoting shows in the DIY music scene in north Louisiana. Doing this for several years shaped who I am as a person in a variety of ways, and so I really treasure the memories from this part of my life.