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Postdoctoral Scholar - O'Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics - Haas School of Business
Position overview
Position title: Postdoctoral Scholar-EmployeeApplication Window
Open date: September 25, 2026
Next review date: Friday, Oct 9, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.
Final date: Monday, Feb 1, 2027 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.
Position description
The O’Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics and Finance, housed jointly in the Haas School of Business and the Department of Economics, seeks applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar.
The Postdoctoral Scholar will be part of Berkeley’s O’Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics and Finance, directed by Professor Ulrike Malmendier. The center’s mission is to support rigorous academic research in various areas of behavioral economics. We also pursue research in collaboration with researchers in neuroscience, cognitive science, and medicine. Faculty from the departments of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Economics, the Haas School of Business, the School of Public Health, the Goldman School of Public Policy, and the Information School are affiliated with the initiative.
The position offers direct engagement in new and exciting research opportunities and personal mentorship from faculty and other researchers on the team.
Duties of Position:
The scholar will be expected to collaborate with Professor Malmendier and coauthors Matthew Ridley (Warwick University) and Kate Orkin (Oxford University) on a new, funded research agenda studying how predictability and controllability shape economic responses to stress, particularly in labor markets. Initial experiments are planned for implementation in the developing world (Kenya), and expansion to Western industrialized countries as well as neuroscientific evaluation in collaboration with Neuroscience colleagues are planned as well.
• Design Randomized Control Trials (RCT)
• Develop details of treatment - scripts, tasks, training local team
• Supervise RCT
• Collect and analyze data from RCT
• Write presentation slides
• Write draft on project
Scholars will gain an expanded network of collaborators and become members of the UC Berkeley research community by actively participating in seminar series and taking advantage of various internal workshops to present and receive feedback on their work. The postdoctoral scholar will also have time for their own complementary research.
Areas of research interest include, but are not limited to:
-neuroscience foundations of modern models of belief formation and economic/financial decision-making mental health, trauma.
-development economics, including the functioning of developing country labor markets and the economic lives of people experiencing poverty.
-labor economics and household finance.
Qualifications
Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree), or enrolled in a Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree) program at the time of application.
Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree) by the start date.
No more than three years of post-degree research experience.
All candidates with a Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree) by start date in economics, finance, and related fields with interest in studying themes related to behavioral economics, behavioral finance, and applied economics are invited to apply.
Expertise in behavioral economics or development economics; strong econometric or theory training; and, in particular, significant experience with the design, implementation, and evaluation of field experiments.
Scholars with strengths in applied microeconometrics, field experiments, and applied data science (including machine learning and computational methods for working with unstructured data) are particularly encouraged.
Application Requirements
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Cover Letter - Please include relevant experience with conducting past RCTs (including corresponding roles).
- 2 required (contact information only)
References should be from individuals who are familiar with the applicant’s written work and qualifications for the position.
Help contact: dbeausoleil@berkeley.edu
About UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy (APM 210 1-d). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community, which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.
The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.
For more information, please refer to the University of California’s Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment Policy and the University of California’s Anti-Discrimination Policy.
In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.
As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.
Unless stated otherwise, unambiguously, in the position description, this position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.
As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.
- “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.
- UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy
- UC Anti-Discrimination Policy
- APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment