Mark Dean, Fifth-year PhD student, Department of Economics

My aim as an economist is to develop better models of decision making, and so improve our ability to explain and predict economic phenomena. Because of this, I have always been interested in the interface between economic theory, psychology, and experiments. More recently, I have become interested in the insights that neuroscience has to offer in developing models of the decision process. I am currently involved in several projects that combine the traditional economic theory with data from both economic experiments and 'neuroeconomics'. Nearest to completion is a project aimed at understanding the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine: experiments suggest that dopamine carries information about both 'reward' and beliefs, as well as playing a role in learning, making it potentially fascinating for economists. Along with faculty and students in the economic and neuroscience departments, I have developed an axiomatic model of the leading hypothesis of dopamine function. We are currently in the process of testing these axioms using brain scanning data. In other work, I am examining the relationship between decision time and choice, and the role of a status quo option in decision making.

My desire to come to NYU stemmed mainly from the fact that they were the only university to make me an offer. However, it is also true that NYU offers a truly unique learning environment for someone who is interested in behavioral economics. The taught courses provide a particularly rigorous underpinning in all aspects of economic theory. The economics department has some of the finest theorists known to humanity, who are also unusually 'open minded' in their attitude to psychological theory and data. The Center for Experimental Social Science provides an amazing resource for a budding behavioralist, with a phenomenal lab, the wisdom and expertise of two of the best experimental economists in the business, and the formidable Raj. However, what really makes NYU unique is the interface between the economics, neuroscience, and psychology departments. Centered around a weekly seminar series, the three departments interact and collaborate on a wide range of projects and at all levels - from graduate students to senior faculty. The fact that there are world-class neuroscientists and economists who work together on joint projects on a daily basis provides a great environment for anyone interested in the interface between neuroscience and economics. The fact that everyone involved is more than happy to engage and interact with graduate students makes it, to my mind, the best place in the world to study neuroeconomics.