SAURABH BHARGAVA | Co-Director

Saurabh Bhargava is an Associate Professor of Economics at Carnegie Mellon University, Founder and co-Director of the BEDR Policy Lab, and Visiting Scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation. Bhargava's research explores decision-making in a variety of policy-relevant contexts such as health insurance, benefit program take-up, retirement savings, criminal justice, unemployment, medical adherence, and employee reward programs. This research relies primarily on field experiments and analysis of administrative data to understand the behavior of low to moderate income populations and how institutions can shape such behavior through optimally designed choice environments.

Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon, Bhargava was an Adjunct Faculty at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, and a consultant at McKinsey & Company. Outside of research, Saurabh battles a mild caffeine addiction, has an unyielding appetite for film, and spends his time reading and wagering on politics, consuming all forms of pop culture and (Minnesota based) sports, and watching reality television - for research, of course.

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GEORGE LOEWENSTEIN | Co-Director

George Loewenstein is the Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. Loewenstein is a co-Director for both the BEDR Policy Lab and the Center for Behavioral Decision Research, and is the Director of Behavioral Economics at the Center for Health Incentives at the Leonard Davis Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. He received his PhD from Yale University in 1985, and has previously held an academic position at The University of Chicago.

His research focuses on applications of psychology to economics, and specific interests include decision making over time, bargaining and negotiations, psychology and health, law and economics, the psychology of adaptation, the role of emotion in decision making, the psychology of curiosity, conflict of interest, various aspects of sex, unethical behavior, and issues involving research ethics.

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LYNN CONELL-PRICE | Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Lynn Conell-Price's research focuses on incorporating the psychology of decision-making into economic models of behavior in areas of policy interest. Her current projects investigate the impact of discouragement on job search behavior during unemployment and explore the behavioral factors that contribute to suboptimal saving decisions. Prior to starting her doctorate, Conell-Price was a research assistant at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and graduated with a BA in Economics from Swarthmore.

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ANIA JAROSZEWICZ | PhD Candidate

Ania Jaroszewicz received her BAs in Economics and Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a graduate certificate in Statistics from The George Washington University. Before coming to CMU, Jaroszewicz worked for the White House Council on Environmental Quality on smart grid policy and for the Federal Trade Commission on consumer protection issues. Her research focuses on decision-making in poverty, and in particular, using behavioral insights to inform and improve consumer protection and poverty-alleviation policies. She is a 2016 recipient of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. Jaroszewicz is an aspiring cyclist, avid dancer, and outdoor enthusiast.

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DAVID HAGMANN | PhD Candidate

David Hagmann's research interests include information avoidance, behavioral interventions (also known as nudges), and decisions from experience. In particular, he focuses on applications in the health domain. His work combines tools from behavioral, experimental, and computational economics.

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NIK GURNEY | PhD Candidate

Nik Gurney is interested in how people process and use information to better their lives. Currently, Gurney is working on projects related to non-disclosure of information, expertise, and beliefs in consumer settings. Prior to joining CMU, Gurney spent 8 years working in business-to-business sales and marketing. When Nik is not lamenting the repercussions of his 10-year hiatus from mathematics, he likes to daydream of an earlier life spent riding motorcycles and rock climbing

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ANDRAS MOLNAR | PhD Candidate

András Molnár began studying economic phenomena from an interdisciplinary perspective, combining experimental psychology methods with computational models and economic theory, after his studies in finance and econometric analysis. His research focuses on social cognition, particularly on the information gathering and integrating processes that emerge during social interactions. Molnár's background is in programming, agent-based modeling, and advanced econometric analysis.

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ERIN CARBONE | PhD Candidate

Erin Carbone’s research interests involve the psychological benefit derived from ostensibly disadvantageous or costly behavior, such as self-handicapping, information avoidance, procrastination, and excessive sharing. Carbone holds a B.A. in conomics and Psychology from Barnard College, as well as masters degrees in Policy Research and Analysis and International Relations from the University of Pittsburgh and the Barcelona Institute of International Studies, respectively. Prior to joining CMU, Carbone worked for several years in data analytics and market research, exploring issues as diverse as healthcare coverage, voting behavior, and psychophysiological responses to marketing material.

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STEPHANIE PERMUT | PhD Candidate

Stephanie Permut is interested in how individuals respond to performance-related feedback and how such feedback can be effectively framed to encourage uptake and minimize reactance. Her current work looks to incorporate psychological insights into conventional and perceptual theories of deterrence. She holds a BA in Psychology from Sarah Lawrence College and an MPhil in Social and Developmental Psychology from the University of Cambridge. She is an avid consumer of true crime long-form and has been described by friends and colleagues as “disarmingly honest”

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BEN SCHENCK | Lab Manager

Ben Schenck manages the BEDR Policy Lab, providing research and operations support. He received his BS in Finance and Economics from University of New Hampshire. Previous to joining BEDR, Schenck founded MtnMeister, a top-ranked outdoors podcast which explores how extreme athletes make decisions. Outside of work, he enjoys playing tennis, cycling, running, and finding free lunches. 

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