Matthew Rabin

Matthew Rabin is the Pershing Square Professor of Behavioral Economics in the Harvard Economics Department and Harvard Business School. He previously spent 25 years at the University of California, Berkeley Economics Department. His research focuses on incorporating psychologically more realistic assumptions into empirically applicable formal economic theory, with current interests including errors in statistical reasoning, the evolution of beliefs, effects of choice context on preferences, reference-dependent preferences, and errors in inference in market and learning settings. He received his PhD from MIT in 1989 and is a member of the Russell Sage Foundation Behavioral Economics Roundtable. He has been a visiting professor at several institutions and has received various honors, including the John Bates Clark Medal.

Matthew Rabin's research focuses on integrating psychological insights into economic theory, particularly in the areas of behavioral economics, decision-making under uncertainty, and social preferences. His work explores how individuals make choices influenced by reference points, procrastination, and cognitive biases such as confirmation bias and projection bias. Rabin also examines the role of fairness, risk aversion, and immediate gratification in economic behavior. His publications highlight the intersection of psychology and economics, offering frameworks to understand anomalies in traditional economic models. His research has implications for policy design, particularly in areas such as taxation and regulation.