Centre for Neuroeconomics

Projektet syftar till att införskaffa kunskaper och erfarenheter för att bygga upp en större forskargrupp inom neuroekonomi och starta ett Neuroekonomiskt center vid Linköpings universitet.

Neuroeconomics or Why Do Our Brains Fail Us?

Neuroeconomics try to find the answer to why we make cognitive mistakes that deprave our ability to make rational intertemporal decisions in favor of our own interests.

Recent breakthroughs in medical imaging and visualization allow us to study brain activity as subjects deal with real economic issues inside the magnetic resonance imaging camera. Exploring neurons activity as the brain process information in decision making experiments enable us to recognize how our minds interact with its external environment when making decisions.

By enriching neoclassical decision theory with knowledge from other disciplines, such as Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology, Medical Imaging and Statistics, we improve the design of experiments and move ahead in interpreting the results. Interdisciplinary collaborations give rise to a more thoroughly understanding of human decision-making processes, which allows us to make better predictions of social and economic behavior. More knowledge and better predictions lead to better institutions and sharper policies.

In our daily life we are surrounded by institutions that, in one way or another, aim at guiding us in our role as decision makers. Yet institutions are far from perfect and their inefficiency often lead people further away, rather than closer, to realize their ambitions. By distinguishing when and why our cognitive capacity fails us, we are able to design institutions that better cover up for our inability to make rational decisions that favor both our own interests and society’s.

Please do catch a glimpse of the course layout in Behavioral Economics:

http://www.iei.liu.se/nek/behavioral-economics?l=sv

If you already have a Bachelor in whatever topic you are more than welcome to sign up!