Dr. Shishir Shakya

I am an applied economist working at the intersection of health economics, institutional economics, and economics education. I study how regulation and market structure shape healthcare labor markets, licensing and scope of practice, and patient outcomes, using causal inference and policy evaluation.

I also examine substance use disorder policy, including treatment access, certificate-of-need laws, and opioid and prescription-monitoring systems. In parallel, I study generative AI and assessment design for learning at scale, and I am Founding Engineer of MyMeritGuide, an agentic-AI platform for authentic oral assessment.

I am a Research Affiliate at the Knee Regulatory Research Center at West Virginia University, a Nonresident Scholar at the Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth, and a Research Fellow at the Archbridge Institute. Through the National Institutes of Health I contribute to AIM-AHEAD Bridge2AI: I was a research fellow in the Clinical Care Training Program, and I am a mentor for the AI-READI and CLINAQ fellowship programs.

Beyond journal articles, I write policy briefs and evidence products for foundations, policy institutes, and state audiences. You can find my CV.