The O’Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics at the University of California at Berkeley fosters research related to the effects of psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural and social factors on the decisions of individuals and institutions and how those decisions vary from those implied by  classical economic theory. It supports both policy oriented and methodological research by hosting conferences and seminars, supporting researchers with grants and partnering with business and policymakers to generate research opportunities. Our faculty are economists in the Berkeley Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley’s Department of Economics, and UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. You can learn more about our team by following the links below or click on the Areas of Expertise.


Ulrike Malmendier

Faculty Director & Co-Founder
Cora Jane Flood Professor of Finance, Berkeley Haas
Professor of Economics, Berkeley Economics

Ulrike Malmendier is the recipient of the prestigious Fischer Black Prize from the American Finance Association, given biennially to the top financial scholar under the age of 40. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016 and received a Guggenheim fellowship in 2017. She is also a Distinguished Teaching Award recipient, the highest teaching honor conferred on the Berkeley campus.

Research Summary:

Ulrike Malmendier’s work is focussed at the intersection of economics and finance, and examines how individuals make mistakes and systematically biased decisions. Much of her research has focused on biases of CEOs and other high-level managers and leaders. Her recent work in behavioral economics focuses on how lifetime experiences of economic shocks, such as high inflation and unemployment, shape an individual’s later economic behavior.

Stefano DellaVigna

Co-Founder
Daniel E. Koshland, Sr. Distinguished Professor of Economics
Professor of Business Administration, Berkeley Haas

Stefano DellaVigna is a co-editor of the flagship journal in economics, the American Economic Review, and has also been a co-editor of the first Handbook of Behavioral Economics. He has been an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow for 2008-10 and is a Distinguished Teaching Award recipient, the highest teaching honor conferred on the Berkeley campus.

Research Summary:

Stefano DellaVigna’s recent research examines the impact of behavioral factors in a variety of economic settings, including persuasion in voting, the forecast of experimental results, and the impact of present-bias and reference dependence on unemployment. His research on behavioral finance has focused on limited attention among investors.

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