Dr Otto Lenhart
Senior Lecturer
Economics
Personal statement
I am a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics. My primary fields of interest are health economics, labor economics and applied microeconometrics. My research focuses on estimating the effects of public policies on health and labor market outcomes. The overarching theme of my research agenda is studying health and labor market effects of policy changes that alter individuals’ income security and access to health insurance. My research has explored a variety of policies, including changes to income assistance programs, minimum wages, insurance coverage, maternal benefits, marijuana policies as well as sudden economic shocks. I am currently teaching the Honour's Year Advanced Microeconomics course, the MSc elective Health Economics Policy course, and the MBA course Economic Analysis for Strategists. Furthermore, I serve as the Deputy Director for the MSc in Applied Economics and MSc in Economics and Finance.
Prize And Awards
- Nominated for SBS Teaching Excellence Award for "Teaching Innovation"
- Recipient
- 5/2026
- Nominated for University of Strathclyde's Teaching Excellence Award for "Above and Beyond Teaching"
- Recipient
- 5/2026
- Nomination for Teaching Excellence Award in category "Diligent Practitioner"
- Recipient
- 5/2025
- Nominated for "Effective and sustained contribution to the student learning experience"
- Recipient
- 5/2025
Publications
- Asymmetric effects of marijuana legalization on mental health and labor markets
- Norris Jonathan, Lenhart Otto, Borbely Daniel, Romiti Agnese, Shi Zhan
- (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.6590998
- Asymmetric Effects of Recreational Marijuana Laws on Mental Health and Labor Markets
- Borbely Daniel, Lenhart Otto, Norris Jonathan, Romiti Agnese, Shi Zhan
- (2026)
- The Aerial Bombing of Cambodia and the Recovery of Communities
- Lenhart Otto, Norris Jonathan, Ta Thi Tham
- (2025)
- Hungry no more? The joint impact of minimum wages and the Earned Income Tax Credit on food insecurity
- Lenhart Otto, Chakraborty Kalyan
- Health Economics Vol 34, pp. 1509-1517 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.70001
- Conflicting economic policies and mental health : evidence from the UK national living wage and benefits freeze
- Akanni Lateef, Lenhart Otto, Morton Alec
- Journal of Policy Analysis and Management Vol 43, pp. 1185-1208 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22592
- Paid family leave and the fight against hunger : evidence from New York
- Kim Jiyoon, Lenhart Otto
- Health Economics Vol 33, pp. 1503-1527 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4818
Professional Activities
- Journal of Health Economics (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 5/2026
- 2026 Annual Conference of the Scottish Economic Society
- Speaker
- 13/4/2026
- Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 3/2026
- Economics & Human Biology (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 3/2026
- External Examiner for PhD Viva at University of Manchester
- Examiner
- 2/2026
- Review of Economics of the Household (Journal)
- Peer reviewer
- 2/2026
Projects
- Exploring the impact of the Scottish Child Payment on the need for food banks
- Randolph, Hannah (Principal Investigator) Congreve, Emma (Co-investigator) Lenhart, Otto (Co-investigator) Romiti, Agnese (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 30-Jan-2024
- SCRUTINY OF EXTENSIVE MARGIN LABOUR SUPPLY RESPONSES (PEER REVIEW)
- Spowage, Mairi (Principal Investigator) Lenhart, Otto (Co-investigator) Randolph, Hannah (Co-investigator)
- 15-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2023
- Workshop on the Role of Income Assistance Programmes in Improving Well-Being
- Lenhart, Otto (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2028
- Strathclyde COVID-19 Research Portfolio: Novel testing, digital health support and third sector collaboration for impact on social care
- Bedford, Tim (Principal Investigator) Corrigan, Damion (Co-investigator) Dunlop, Mark (Co-investigator) Egan, Kieren (Co-investigator) Fleming, Leanne (Co-investigator) Flowers, Paul (Co-investigator) Grealy, Madeleine (Co-investigator) Hoskisson, Paul (Co-investigator) Hunter, Iain (Co-investigator) Janssen, Xanne (Co-investigator) Kirk, Alison (Co-investigator) Knifton, Lee (Co-investigator) Lenhart, Otto (Co-investigator) Maguire, Roma (Co-investigator) Morton, Alec (Co-investigator) Quinn, Neil (Co-investigator) Scott, Fraser (Co-investigator) Suckling, Colin (Co-investigator) Ward, Andrew (Co-investigator) Williams, Lynn (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2020 - 16-Jan-2021