> How would you describe your research in 1 or 2 sentences?
I'm interested in assumptions about individual behavior that are more accurate than those currently used in economics, but at the same time tractable enough to be incorporated into economic models.
> Can you explain that a little further?
At the heart of any economic model are assumptions about individual behavior. Those assumptions are often too simplistic and don’t reflect human nature: experiments and casual observation confirm that people violate them in systematic ways. However, economic models rely heavily on those simple assumptions and this makes it quite difficult to change them. In my work I am trying to find assumptions that are consistent with our knowledge about human behavior, but can also be easily ``plugged into' economic models.
> How did you decide to enter your field, and what brought you to your topic?
I was always interested in how people make their decisions and how they interact with each other, but I also had interests in mathematics; therefore economics seemed like an ideal field. In my very first classes I found it surprising how psychologically implausible the assumptions were; on the other hand, I was seduced by the mathematical tools and started wondering how they could be used to model more realistic behavior.
> Who is your advisor?
My advisor is Eddie Dekel, who is a tremendously patient person and a very good mentor.
> What are your interests outside of research?
I like spending my time outdoors, cooking and listening to classical music. Also, I've recently become interested in how the Internet changes the way we think about intellectual property and how this affects the "market for ideas".
> What are your future plans?
I love both teaching and research, so my goal is to stay in academia. For more, go to my webpage
