A specialist in hows and whys
Matthew Rabin wants to know what makes you tick. One of the nation’s top scholars of behavioral economics, Rabin has been appointed to the first of three endowed professorships in Harvard’s Foundations of Human Behavior Initiative (FHB), a research effort aimed at uncovering the fundamental mechanisms behind human actions. Rabin will join FHB Director David Laibson, the Robert I. Goldman Professor of Economics, in the study of psychological, social, economic, political, and biological aspects of human behavior. By bringing together faculty from across Harvard to investigate a wide range of cognitive, social, and behavioral phenomena, the initiative aims to develop new ways to address issues related to health care, economic development, education, and governance. “How do we help people who want to quit smoking?” Laibson asked. “How do we help people save for retirement? How can we reduce domestic violence? How can we make people more productive at work, or learn more in school?...