Michael Kuhn

Michael Kuhn is an Associate Professor in the Economics department at the University of Oregon. Prior to joining the department, he received his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego economics department in 2014. He is an applied behavioral economist with an interest in applications to consumer finance, public economics and labor economics.

He uses a variety of methods –laboratory experiments, field experiments and observational data analysis– to study the implications of behavioral theory for economic policy, the determinants of consumer preferences and preference-elicitation methodology. His experimental fieldwork includes large-scale RCT studies and surveys in the developed world, light-touch interventions in the developing world, traditional laboratory studies, and studies in online labor markets. Much of his policy research deals with the issues of food and nutrition sufficiency for welfare recipients and re-designing policies to allow people to better achieve their own long-term goals. His research on consumer decision-making addresses the determinants of time preferences, cooperation, and beliefs, and his research on preference elicitations focuses on the econometric implications of instrument design.