National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
To support the growth of research on behavioral public economics through training for early-career scholars
Many policies, like cigarette and alcohol taxes, are partly motivated by concerns that people can fail to act in their own best interests. Behavioral public economics (BPE) is a field that seeks to apply insights from behavioral economics to understand and evaluate such policies—with the ultimate goal of creating better policies. Despite its potential for improving policies, and lives, BPE remains a relatively niche and undersubscribed field at universities. This grant supports a team of BPE scholars working to change that. Douglas Bernheim at Stanford University, together with Hunt Allcott at Harvard University and Dmitry Taubinsky at the University of California, Berkeley, are launching a bootcamp to help grow the BPE research community. Grant funds will allow the team to run biennial two-day bootcamps at the National Bureau of Economic Research’s offices, which will include training sessions, keynote lectures, and networking opportunities for early-career scholars. To ensure educational offerings reach the widest possible audience, the effort includes focused outreach to women and underrepresented groups as well as the online posting of recorded sessions, expanding access to those unable to participate in person.