Graduate Student “Boot Camp” on Behavioral Public Economics

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), with the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, will host a graduate student workshop on Behavioral Public Economics on October 12-14, 2023 in Cambridge, MA. This workshop is designed to help graduate students in economics become experts on cutting-edge research and techniques at the intersection of Behavioral and Public Economics, as well as their connections to related fields such as Health, Labor, Household Finance, Development, and Energy Economics.  Two recent surveys, one from 2015 and another from 2018, provide overviews of this field.

The workshop will be organized by NBER affiliates Hunt Allcott and Doug Bernheim of Stanford University and Dmitry Taubinsky of the University of California – Berkeley.  The program will include lectures by the organizers as well Stephanie DeLuca, Manasi Deshpande, Ben Handel, Joanna Naritomi, and Ricardo Perez-Truglia.  It will include opportunities for networking and meeting with other students and faculty.  Twenty-five students will be invited to participate. The NBER will cover travel and lodging expenses, subject to the NBER’s reimbursement guidelines, as well as all meals during the workshop. 

This year’s program will be similar to the program from 2022.  The participants in the inaugural workshop were very enthusiastic about the experience. 

Prospective applicants should assemble the following materials in a single PDF file:

• A cover letter, limited to two pages, that includes an explanation of why you are interested in behavioral public economics and a description of at least one research project that you are thinking about or working on. 

• A current c.v.

• A complete graduate school transcript.

Please upload these materials, along with complete contact information, the name of the applicant’s current Ph.D. program and year in that program, and the names and email addresses of  two faculty members who could provide recommendations on behalf of the applicant, no later than 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on Thursday, June 29, 2023.  Applications that are not submitted by the deadline will not be considered.  Applications from students who are members of groups that have historically been under-represented in the economics profession are welcome.  Applications will be evaluated by the organizers, and acceptance decisions will be announced in late July. 

Please direct questions about workshop content to one of the three organizers, and questions about logistics and the application process to Elisa Pepe (epepe@nber.org).