US-Ireland Alliance

Ned Augenblick - a the Intersection of Economics and Psychology

By Conor Ryan 

Assistant Professor in the Economic Analysis and Policy Group of the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley, Ned is carrying out research in the field of behavioral economics, the intersection between psychology and economics.  He is particularly interested in how beliefs are formed and sustained as well as how they impact decision making internally and in groups. 

Ned is 2001 Mitchell Scholar.  Determined to pursue a PhD in Economics, Ned decided to study mathematics at University College Dublin.  After graduating he stayed in Ireland for an additional year and worked with Media Lab Europe.  Ned was impressed by the number of people and organizations he encountered in Ireland who were trying to make positive changes in society.  Today, in his role as a lecturer, teaching the next generation of business leaders, he encourages students to cultivate the same values.

Ned has conducted research on fascinating topics including the behavior of those who believed in the Mayan 'end of the world' predictions and a number of studies on procrastination.  He has examined the volatility of beliefs over time and developed a mathematical model to determine if people's beliefs were too volatile given the information available.  Ned is constantly adding knowledge to the field, preparing papers for publication and conferences with co-authors from Berkeley, Stanford, Cornell and other institutions.