Kurt Schnier studies policy analysis in the fields of health and resource economics.  In health economics, Schnier’s research focuses on the response of physicians and hospitals to current and impending regulations that impact the provision of health care.  His resource economics research focuses on facilitating the development of efficient marine resource policy and determining how fishermen respond to current and prospective fisheries policy. To conduct his research, Schnier uses econometric, experimental and simulation modeling methods. In addition to these primary areas of research he has been actively involved in research on charitable auctions.

Schnier's research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Applied Econometrics, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Economic Inquiry. His research has been funded by such agencies as the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) in Bozeman, Montana. Now an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Economics Department at Georgia State University, Schnier was previously a faculty member in the Department of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics at the University of Rhode Island and is currently serving as an Associate Editor of the journal of Marine Resource Economics.