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Richard McGowan, SJ, has taught courses in finance and statistics for more than thirty years at Boston College, where he is fondly referred to as 鈥淔ather McGowan.鈥� But in El Salvador, where he travels twice a year to teach executive education courses at the University of Central America, his colleagues have given聽 him a less traditional moniker. 鈥淭hey call me the sin priest down there,鈥� McGowan said with a laugh. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know whether to be honored or not, but it actually is quite true.鈥�

McGowan has spent nearly the entirety of his academic career studying humankind鈥檚 various vices鈥攏amely gambling, alcohol, and cigarettes鈥攁nd the public policies designed to regulate them. Today, he鈥檚 one of the nation鈥檚 foremost experts on the so-called 鈥渟in industries,鈥� commenting in national news stories on casino policy and marijuana legalization and consulting with state governments on gaming regulations. He鈥檚 published numerous articles on everything from state-run lotteries to the Spanish cigarette industry, as well as six books, with another on the way.聽

McGowan鈥檚 research interests run in two directions: As a trained economist, he spends much of his time searching for trends in data and creating models to predict economic outcomes, such as how much revenue will be generated by legalized sports betting. But as a Jesuit priest, McGowan is also fascinated by human behavior, including the public鈥檚 shifting opinion of which 鈥渟inful鈥� behaviors are ethical, and which aren鈥檛. 鈥淚n the sixties, only one state had casino gambling and you could smoke anywhere,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow, cigarette smokers are absolute pariahs and everyone accepts gambling. Why is that?鈥�

McGowan began studying the sin industries in the 1980s as a doctoral student at Boston University, where he completed a dissertation examining the effects of excise taxes and anti-smoking laws on cigarette sales. After completing his first book on the topic, he shifted his attention to the alcohol industry and later became an expert in legalized gambling, sitting on several gaming commissions and attending regular conferences in Las Vegas, despite his personal aversion to the city. (鈥淎fter three days I鈥檝e about had it.鈥�) As states began to contemplate legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use, McGowan added another sin to his arsenal, writing articles on the pros and cons of legalization and testifying about the public policy implications.

More recently, McGowan has expanded his definition of 鈥渟in industries.鈥� He now studies soft drink manufacturers, as well as tech companies like Facebook and Amazon. This more recent focus will feature prominently in his upcoming book, Economics, Ethics and Public Policy: Past and Future Sin Industries. McGowan and colleagues in Spain and Australia are also studying the potential consequences of legalized sports betting, including the cost of gambling addiction, which is difficult to quantify, but important to understand, McGowan said. 鈥淭he Jesuits were always famous for looking at both sides of the issue and when you do that, you realize there are consequences for whatever action you take, even if it鈥檚 the right action,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he first thing I teach my economics students is that there鈥檚 an opportunity cost no matter what you do.鈥澛�

Traditional theologians might cringe at the subjects he鈥檚 chosen to study, but McGowan said his research helps policy-makers and elected officials make the choices that most benefit society. Where others may see products like e-cigarettes or soda as purely bad, McGowan has a more nuanced view: What if e-cigarettes could help lifelong smokers quit? Would you rather a person smoked marijuana or used opioids? Sometimes, he said, 鈥測ou have to measure the lesser evil.鈥� 聽

Whatever else you can say about being the sin priest, it comes with job security. Recently, a conversation with a student got McGowan thinking about self-driving cars, a controversial topic with a long list of pros and cons鈥攈is favorite kind of topic to explore. 鈥淎s soon as I hear people say, 鈥榳e鈥檝e got to regulate this,鈥� my ears perk up and go, 鈥榓ha, a new industry!鈥欌�澛�