Dr. Barton Hamilton is a nationally recognized economist whose research spans healthcare economics, entrepreneurship, innovation, labor markets, and organizational performance. He serves as the Robert Brookings Smith Distinguished Professor of Economics, Management, and Entrepreneurship at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, where he has played a leading role in developing interdisciplinary programs that bridge business, medicine, and healthcare management. He has taught and directed courses in healthcare management, health economics, healthcare policy, and innovation, bringing together faculty and students from both Washington University’s business and medical schools.

Dr. Hamilton’s research focuses on how economic incentives, innovation, specialization, and organizational structures influence outcomes in healthcare and business. His work has examined the adoption and diffusion of medical treatments, healthcare costs, physician and surgeon performance, healthcare innovation, patient outcomes, and health disparities. He has also conducted influential research in entrepreneurship, organizational economics, and labor market dynamics, making him a recognized authority on performance measurement and value creation across complex systems.

A prolific scholar, Dr. Hamilton has published extensively in leading economics, management, and healthcare journals, with research appearing in publications such as the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Studies, International Economic Review, and Management Science. His work has been cited more than 12,000 times and has contributed significantly to understanding how innovation and specialization impact both economic and healthcare outcomes.

Before joining Washington University, Dr. Hamilton served as Assistant Professor of Economics at McGill University. He earned his PhD in Economics from Stanford University and his AB in Economics, with honors, from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a member of the American Economic Association, the Econometric Society, and the American Statistical Association.

As Healthcare Economist at PotentiaMetrics, Dr. Hamilton provides expertise in healthcare value measurement, outcomes economics, health services research, physician performance analysis, economic evaluation, and healthcare innovation. His work helps ensure that PotentiaMetrics’ personalized decision support and outcomes modeling platforms are grounded in rigorous economic analysis, real-world evidence, and value-based healthcare principles.