In this episode, we explore how time pressure and regret can influence our search behavior as customers in the world of online shopping. Our guest, Timm Opitz, sheds light on his research paper titled "Time Pressure and Regret in Sequential Search", which investigates the impact of urgency and regret on optimal search behavior by conducting experiments in a controlled environment. He also shares some strategies we can use to overcome the influence of urgency and regret in our shopping behaviour. Timm Opitz is economist currently pursuing his PhD at the Max-Planck-Institute for Innovation and C ..read more

Join us in this episode as we explore the rise of AI technology and the complex decisions that policy makers are facing regarding the protection of privacy and fostering of innovation. Our guest Keith sheds light on how moderately loosening regulations in a competitive market environment may maximize consumer welfare. However, we also discuss how some countries, such as Russia, strongly deviate from this strategy, indicating that consumer welfare may not be their top priority.  Keith Chan is Assistant Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where his research is c ..read more

In this episode Felix Mylius shares his insights on personal referrals in labour markets. He explains to us why personal referrals are still relevant for job search today despite the predominant use of online platforms to find jobs and how all this is linked to Game Theory and matching markets. Together we dive into firms' incentives, implications for search platforms and discuss whether this is transferable to other matching markets, like the dating market.   Felix Mylius is currently finishing his PhD in economics at the University of Cambridge. His research is mainly focused on applica ..read more

In this episode we are diving into the topic of healthcare markets together with Simon Reif. He explains to us what makes the healthcare market so special, why its characteristics call for regulation and how systems differ substantially across countries. Focusing on Europe we discuss how, counterintuitively, setting a "global budget" for hospitals leads to poorer service and how generating the right incentives could change the healthcare market for the better in future.   Simon Reif is a health economist heading the research group “Health Markets and Health Policy” at the Leibniz Centre f ..read more

In this episode Piotr Dworczak explains to us how Market Design can contribute to alleviating inequality by increasing accuracy of policies targeting inequality. He does so using an example from the housing market which shows that more often than not it is very difficult to ensure that subsidies actually reach people in need since they cannot be easily identified. This is where Market Design comes into play: by generating targeted incentives which have a selection effect, it makes e.g. affordable housing policies more effective.   Piotr Dworczak is associate Professor at the Department of ..read more

In this episode Emir Kamenica introduces us to the research field of information design. He recaps the history of modelling information in economics from the 70s to today, and explains term “Bayesian Persuasion” (and if and how it differs from the term “information design”). He then illustrates how having full information e.g. as a navigation app user can lead to inefficient outcomes and what information design means in the context of mystery novels, gambling and entertainment in general.   Emir Kamenica is Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and ..read more

From selling on eBay over Google advertisements to buying a house, auctions are all around us! But what makes it so difficult to find the right bidding strategy? In this episode Bernhard Kasberger sheds some light on what a so called first price auction is, why it is challenging to "bid correctly" and what the recipe for the optimal bid strategy under maximum uncertainty is in theory. He explains how his findings apply to the real life and which additional related topics he is currently working on.   Bernhard Kasberger currently works as a Postdoc at the Düsseldorf Institute for Competiti ..read more

In this episode Gernot Wagner explains the concept of Geoengineering and its potential role in preventing climate change. He analyses the implications of Geoengineering from a game theoretic perspective and shows the connection to the game theoretic concept of “moral hazard”. He also gives some advice on how we can all profit from the (potential) advantages of Geoengineering (and other new technologies), without falling into the “moral hazard trap”. Gernot Wagner is climate economist at Columbia Business School where his research is focused on climate risks and climate policy. He is also the a ..read more

To share or not to share. Credit, incentives and competition among researchers | with Remco Heesen In this episode Remco Heesen shares his insights on the trade-offs researchers face when deciding whether to share intermediate results with fellow researchers. He explains how incentive structures in research lead to a suboptimal outcome and gives historic examples of prominent researchers who have been subject to these incentives. Remco then discusses possible measures that can be taken to encourage researchers to share intermediate results with their colleagues. Remco Heesen currently works as ..read more

In this episode, we discuss with Paul Papayoanou his real life experience as a consultant applying Game Theory. Paul has worked on over 150 engagements using his expertise. In our discussion we especially focus on Paul’s experience in consulting bidders participating in auctions. Paul shares how he prepares his clients when they enter an auction and what makes a good bidding strategy.   Paul Papayoanou is a consultant for all things Game Theory and author of the book "Game Theory for Business: A Primer in Strategic Gaming". He has worked as a professor at the University of California San ..read more