David Laibson

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Professor David Laibson
Summer School 2008

SUMMER INSTITUTE IN BEHAVIORAL ECONOMICS University of Trento - CEEL, June 15 to June 27, 2008

Sponsored by the Russell Sage Foundation's Behavioral Economics Roundtable & University of Trento

From June 15 to June 27, 2008, the Russell Sage Foundation along with the University of Trento will sponsor the eighth Summer Institute in Behavioral Economics, to be held on the campus of the University of Trento, in Italy. The purpose of this workshop is to introduce graduate students and beginning faculty in economics and related disciplines to the findings and methods of behavioral economics. Behavioral economics is the application of psychological theory and research to economics. Psychological foundations to be covered include decision-making under risk and uncertainty, intertemporal choice, heuristics and biases in judgment, mental accounting, and social preferences. These concepts will be applied to topics such as savings behavior, labor economics, game theory and finance.

The co-organizers of the Summer Institute are David Laibson, Luigi Mittone, and Matthew Rabin. The principal faculty will be David Laibson and Matthew Rabin, with anticipated participation in some sessions by Colin Camerer, Armin Falk, Sendhil Mullainathan, Eldar Shafir, Andrei Shleifer, and Richard Thaler, as well as other members of the Behavioral Economics Roundtable (listed below) and other guest faculty. The schedule will include sessions in which students will be introduced to the psychological foundations of different economic topics, seminars in which visiting speakers will present recent research papers that apply psychology to economics, and opportunities for students to discuss their ideas and research with the organizers, other faculty, and other participants. The Summer Institute is intended for Economics Ph.D. students who by July 2008 will have completed at least one year of their graduate program, and faculty in economics who have completed their Ph.D. program since April 2006. These restrictions will be strictly adhered to. Candidates in other disciplines (e.g., psychology, business, political science and law) who have a strong interest and advanced training in formal economics are also encouraged to apply. The Russell Sage Foundation will cover most participant costs during the conference, including housing and most meals. A capped travel stipend will also be provided. About thirty participants will be invited. Participants will be required to complete some assigned readings in advance of the conference and to attend the entire program.

There is no application form nor program information beyond this announcement. (For some guidance, details of the 2006 summer institute can be found at http://www.unitn.it/events/sibe/.) To apply, send a curriculum vita, a statement (maximum three pages) describing both your current research and your interest in behavioral economics, and two letters of recommendation from faculty advisors. Letters of recommendation should be as informative as possible about your standing in the program, general ability, research potential, and (if applicable) special interest in behavioral economics. All applications must include an e-mail and mailing address. We cannot accept e-mail applications; please, paper applications only. Applications and letters should be sent by mail/courier to: Economics Team / Economics Department / Littauer Building / Harvard University / Cambridge, MA 02138-3001. (The official address for courier delivery is 1875 Cambridge Street, and the phone number is 617.495.8326.) We strongly prefer letters to be included in the application package, but if unavoidable they can be sent separately to econteam@harvard.edu as the text of the message or pdf attachments. We anticipate a large pool of highly qualified applicants and we expect to make quick decisions. Applications and letters must be received by the deadline. Complete applications, including letters of recommendation, must be received by Friday, March 7, 2008. We will notify applicants solely by e-mail by Friday, March 28, and ask participants to confirm their participation soon thereafter. Inquiries can be sent to econteam@harvard.edu.

Behavioral Economics Roundtable: Henry Aaron, George Akerlof, Linda Babcock, Nicholas C. Barberis, Marianne Bertrand, Roland J. M. Benabou, Colin Camerer, Peter Diamond, Jon Elster, Ernst Fehr, Robert H. Frank, Christine Jolls, Daniel Kahneman, David Laibson, George Loewenstein, Brigitte Madrian, Sendhil Mullainathan, Edward D. O'Donoghue, Terrance Odean, Drazen Prelec, Matthew Rabin, Thomas Schelling, Eldar Shafir, Robert Shiller, Cass Sunstein, Richard Thaler, Jean Tirole, Richard Zeckhauser.