Inaugural Lecture by Professor (m.s.o.) Steffen Andersen

Title: Revealing Behavior through Experiments

Economic theory formalizes how individuals should make decision over their life-cycle, ranging from consumption and saving decisions, education choices and health investments. The inaugural lecture re-evaluates the theory, experimental design and econometrics behind revealing individual decision making and presents a method of using a combination of natural experiments to examine predictions of individual behavior over the life cycle and controlled field experiments to characterize the preference structure of the model. Natural experiments and controlled field experiments can be viewed as complementary research strategies. Economic theory makes some stark predictions about naturally occurring behavior, and field experiments allow us to identify what aspects of the theory require relaxation in order to explain economic behavior in naturally occurring environments. The upshot should be better theory that explains more behavior.

About Steffen Andersen: Andersen is Professor (m.s.o.) of Experimental and Behavioral Economics at the Department of Economics of Copenhagen Business School. He leads several larger research projects with an empirical and applied focus using a register-based approach linking experiments with register based data to reveal and analyze behavior. Andersen’s research deals with human behavior in a variety of settings such as investment and entrepreneurial behavior.

Programme:

3.30 p.m. - 3.35 p.m: 

Welcome, by

President, Per Holten-Andersen

3.35 p.m. – 3.50 p.m.:

Introduction, by

Head of Department,

Professor Peter Møllgaard

3.50 p.m. - 4.30 p.m:

Inaugural lecture,

Professor (m.s.o.)

Steffen Andersen

4.30 p.m. - 6.00 p.m:

Reception