Postdoctoral Scholar - O'Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics - Haas School of Business

Position overview

Position title: Postdoctoral Scholar-Employee

Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay at appointment. See the following table for the current postdoctoral scholar salary scales: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-oct-2025-scales/t23.pdf The current full-time salary range for post doc positions is $69,073 - $82,836. A reasonable estimate for this postdoctoral scholar position is $69,073 to $77,030. Final salary will be commensurate with level of experience.

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: 8/1/2026

Position duration: This position is funded for two years with possible renewal.

Application Window

Open date: January 16, 2026

Next review date: Friday, Jan 30, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Tuesday, Jun 30, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The O'Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics and Finance, housed jointly in the Haas School of Business and the Department of Economics, seeks applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar-Employee, with expertise in behavioral economics or behavioral finance, and strong econometric or theory training.

The Postdoctoral Scholar will be part of Berkeley's O'Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics and Finance, housed jointly in the Haas School of Business and the Department of Economics. The center's mission is to support rigorous academic research in various areas of behavioral economics, including all areas of applied microeconomics, financial economics, macro-finance, political economy, public economics, and health economics. We also pursue research in collaboration with researchers in neuroscience, cognitive science, and medicine. Ulrike Malmendier and Stefano Della Vigna, both joint faculty members at the Haas School of Business and the Department of Economics, co-direct the center. Faculty from the departments of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Economics, the Haas Business School, the School of Public Health, the Goldman School of Public Policy, and the Information School are affiliated with the initiative. Ulrike Malmendier will be the primary faculty lead.

Duties of Position:
The position offers direct engagement in new and exciting research opportunities and personal mentorship from faculty and other researchers on the team. Scholars will gain an expanded network of collaborators and become members of the UC Berkeley research community by actively participating in seminar series and taking advantage of various internal workshops to present and receive feedback on their work. The postdoctoral scholar will also have time for their own complementary research. The scholar will also be expected to join and develop a research agenda in collaboration with their supervisor.

Areas of research interest include, but are not limited to:

• models and empirical evidence of belief formation in macro-finance, especially work on experience effects and memory formation;
• household decision-making: household finance, health choices, consumption
• firm decision-making: corporate finance and in particular managerial biases, including overconfidence, sunk-cost fallacy, and hindsight bias;
• neuroscience foundations of modern models of belief formation and economic/financial decision-making mental health, trauma.

Applicants are expected to pitch their existing research. They may also at their discretion (1) propose possible areas of collaboration, including concrete project ideas, and (2) contribute to possible projects of collaboration proposed by us.

Program: https://haas.berkeley.edu/behavioral-economics/

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree), or enrolled in a Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree) program at the time of application.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)
Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree) by the start date.
No more than two years of post-degree research experience.

Preferred qualifications
All candidates with a Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree) by start date in economics, finance, and related fields with interest in studying themes related to behavioral economics behavioral finance, and applied economics are invited to apply.
Scholars with strengths in applied microeconometrics, field experiments, and applied data science (including machine learning and computational methods for working with unstructured data) are particularly encouraged.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter
• Statement of Research - A summary of your research agenda non-technical language, suitable for a broad audience outside of your discipline

Reference requirements

• 2-6 required (contact information only)

References should be from individuals who are familiar with the applicant's written work and qualifications for the position.

Job location
2220 Piedmont Ave, Berkeley, CA 94720