Alberto Bisin, Associate Professor of Economics
www.nyu.edu/econ/user/bisina/

Here is a general overview of the areas I specifically take an interest in. For an updated summary of my recent research, please refer to http://www.econ.nyu.edu/user/bisina/new.htm

Financial Economics. I have done mostly theoretical work regarding the general equilibrium properties of economies with market frictions, like transaction costs and especially private information. I have also studied several applications to various themes in finance, like bankruptcy, managerial compensation, and asset prices.

Social Economics. I have done theoretical and empirical work on the intergenerational transmission of culture, as mechanisms for the formation of preferences and norms. The specific cultural/preference traits that I am mostly interested in include, religious affiliation, preferences for status goods, and norms associated to the work ethic. (The New Palgrave entry on "cultural transmission" which I have written with T. Verdier summarizes the topic.)

On a different but related subject, I have studied theoretical models of social interactions and I am currently working on developing appropriate methods to empirically identify the parameters on these models in dynamic contexts, as well as on specific empirical applications.

Behavioral Economics.  I have studied a theoretical model of inter-temporal choice characterized by preferences for the present which are inconsistent with exponential discounting. The model is inspired by studies of cognitive processing in the neurosciences.  I am also involved in various experimental projects also geared at understanding inter-temporal choice and preferences for the present.