‘Developing tools and techniques for incorporating and studying information processing biases into economic models is what I work on’

Assistant Professor of Economics at the School of Business Daniel Hauser works on game theory and the economics of information. His work is primarily focused on model misspecification of information and the role it plays in economic decision-making. Traditionally game theory focuses on settings where individuals interpret information correctly. 

‘In my research, I work on developing tools and techniques for systematically incorporating information processing biases into economic models and analysis,’ says Daniel Hauser. He has just received The European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant funding which is designed to support talented early-career scientist.

Daniel Hauser says that his research develops a unified framework for incorporating these information processing biases in economic settings. The primary tool is “model misspecification”, which treats individuals as standard economic agents with one exception, these individuals have a model of the world that may differ from the truth. This framework is tractable, flexible, and it nests many models of information processing biases from the theoretical and behavioral literatures. 

‘In this project, I plan to continue this work to study the implications of information processing biases in economic settings. My research will expand this framework not only through additional theoretical work, but also through experimental work. This includes a mix of lab experiments and surveys to better understand how individuals reason about information. Finally, it includes an applied work that seeks to understand the role information processing biases play in markets, organizations and political settings, and how a policy maker can design successful interventions to counteract inefficiencies that may arise due to these biases.’

‘To deepen our understanding of the world’

liana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, says that The European Commission is proud to support the curiosity and passion of our early-career talent under our Horizon Europe programme. ‘The new ERC Starting Grants winners aim to deepen our understanding of the world. Their creativity is vital to finding solutions to some of the most pressing societal challenges. Congratulations to all!’

The European Research Council (ERC) funding is awarded to leading researchers for pioneering work at the frontiers of science. ERC Starting Grants are designed to support talented early-career scientist (2–7 years since completion of PhD) who has already produced excellent supervised work, is ready to work independently and shows potential to be a research leader. This competition attracted 3,474 proposals, which were evaluated by peer review panels of internationally renowned researchers. Overall, 14.2% of the proposals were selected for funding. Starting Grants amount to €1.5 million per grant for a period of five years.