Research in Behavioral Economics and Behavioral Finance: The Experience Effects Book
Ulrike Malmendier, Professor
Economics
Applications for Fall 2026 are closed for this project.
We are looking for highly motivated apprentices interested in behavioral economics or behavioral finance research for the 2026 fall semester.
The Experience Effects Book
Professor Malmendier’s upcoming book combines all the insights she has gained through her extensive research on “experience effects” in economics. Experience effects refer to the ways in which our past experiences affect our economic and financial decision-making.
Role: Expectations:
- Undergraduates will be required to complete assignments weekly. They will also be required to fill out weekly reports detailing the work they completed for the week and their next to-dos.
- Undergraduates will be required to attend a weekly 1-hour meeting with members of their project team to discuss the finer details of the project and organize weekly work tasks. Students should come to the meeting prepared to present updates. Project leads will provide guidance and, together with students, decide next steps. While Prof. Malmendier will be aware of discussions during these meetings, undergraduates should not expect her to be in attendance.
- Undergraduates will also be required to attend a weekly 30-minute meeting with members of all project teams and Prof. Malmendier when available. Each week, one project team will present big-picture updates on their work and receive feedback to help drive the project forward.
- Undergraduates must have a self-motivated, can-do attitude. They should also have excellent communication and organization skills.
Interested students should write, in 400 words or less, a statement of interest and qualifications. Please state/rank which projects you would like to work on in your application. Qualified applicants will then be given a short data collection task and interview at a later date.
For this project, we need undergraduates who can:
- Brainstorm and identify modern and historical examples of experience effects.
- Conduct literature reviews on evidence from a variety of fields (economics, sociology, and psychology) as well as non-academic articles (news articles/videos, non-fiction books, etc.).
- Outline and write passages discussing experience effects using the collected research evidence.
- Read over Prof. Malmendier’s drafts for the book, suggesting areas for improvement in research quality, clarity/brevity, and general flow.
This project is primarily suitable for students who enjoy reading and creative writing. Key skills include creative thinking with respect to research, experience with literature reviews on academic and non-academic articles, creative writing skills, and a good grasp of the revision process.
Qualifications: Required:
- Excellent grades overall, but especially in relevant courses for our projects (see next).
- Experience with coursework in micro/macroeconomics and econometrics (i.e. ECON 100A/101A, ECON 100B/101B, ECON 140/141, or an equivalent course in each field).
- Basic knowledge in conducting data analysis in R, Python, and/or STATA.
- Excellent work ethic, attention to detail, and strong intellectual curiosity.
Preferred:
- Experience in coursework in statistics, data science, and/or data management courses (e.g. DATA C100, DATA C102, STAT 135, STAT 151A, and STAT 156).
- High proficiency in a programming language, including those not listed above. Other languages we prefer working knowledge of include Julia, MATLAB, Qualtrics, and SurveyCTO.
- Experience working with data and handling research tasks, especially in economics.
- Students interested in graduate school in economics, finance, or a related field are especially encouraged to apply.
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Social Sciences