Our Mission
The University of California, Berkeley, has a long tradition as a leader in behavioral economics, a line of study revolutionizing the way economics analyzes people’s behavior. The mission of the O’Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics is to support scholarship combining the highest standards of economic research with insights drawn from psychology and across the sciences—including cognitive science, neuroscience, biology, medicine, epidemiology, and genetics. Berkeley’s cross-disciplinary approach promotes the broad application of these principles in such fields as labor, finance, and health economics. The center ensures that Berkeley will continue to attract and train the most talented students in this important field of study.
In the Media
About the Robert G. and Sue Douthit O'Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics
In 1987 two professors at UC Berkeley, George Akerlof and Daniel Kahneman, joined forces to teach a PhD class that used the analytical tools of social and cognitive psychology to investigate economic problems. Their teaching was a foundation for what is now known as Behavioral Economics.
The O’Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics carries on this proud tradition and is a multi-sectoral effort aimed at supporting research, industry partnerships, and graduate student training in the field.
