"Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Behavioral-Economic Theory"

Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Behavioral-Economic Theory

Company: Harvard University

Job Location: Cambridge, 02138

Category: Economics

Type: Full-Time

School: Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Position Description

Professor Matthew Rabin seeks full-time, pre-doctoral research fellows. The position is ideal for candidates interested in pursuing PhD studies in Economics, particularly those with an interest in psychologically-grounded economic theory.

Fellows will aid Professor Rabin and others in formally drawing out the implications of theoretical models in both "behavioral" and "classical" economic theory. Particular emphasis will be put in psychologically-grounded models that attempt to rigorously improve the psychological realism of economic theory. Examples of such improvements include incorporating limited rationality (e.g., errors in statistical reasoning, errors in interpreting others' behavior), time-inconsistent preferences (self-control problems, utility misprediction), and more general utility functions (e.g., dependent on expectations, self-image, and other beliefs) into our models. This research agenda maintains the conventional mathematical tools and formalism of economic theory, and is outlined in Rabin's 2013 AER and JEL papers. The goal is to develop and evaluate models that can broadly improve economics, rather than over-stating the successes or failures of theories by cherry picking examples, or ignoring the cases where the new theories make worse predictions than classical economics or competing new general formulations. The research assistance needed will reflect this goal: participants will be asked to rigorously work out both realistic and unrealistic implications of models in areas such as game theory, choice under uncertainty, belief updating, social learning, etc.

Per the list of key responsibilities and qualifications below, please pay attention to the nature of this position. There are a great many pre-doctoral positions geared towards lab experiments, field experiments, and other empirical methods, with fantastic PI's, and naturally fitting in the category of "behavioral economics", where you will be able to leverage and build skills in such research. This is not such a position.

Key Responsibilities:

• Analyze the implications of psychologically-founded theoretical models in concert with Professor Rabin and other research assistants, students, and collaborators. Such analysis includes formalizing and proving or disproving some common conjectures and intuitions proffered for the implications of new theories, providing general comparative-statics and calibration results, and working out examples and applications of models to different situations.
• Contribute to the development of publicly available pedagogical materials for teaching, and to help others incorporate the models and evidence into their own research. Develop tools to streamline the application of these models.
• Assist with specific research papers on psychologically-grounded economic theory.
• Conduct literature reviews on theory and evidence broadly related to behavioral economics.
• Analyze and evaluate what existing empirical and experimental evidence tells us about different behavioral theories.

Professional Development:
So long as all duties associated with the position are completed, pre-doctoral fellows will have the opportunity to participate in the Harvard academic community, including attending seminars, workshops, and courses. In addition to working with Professor Rabin, fellows will work with other pre-doctoral fellows, students, and faculty also working with Professor Rabin.
The position is theory-oriented. So in addition to enhancing literacy in behavioral and other fields in economics, it will help improve proficiency applying theoretical models, and help develop skills for formulating new theoretical models, both "behavioral" and "classical". The position is also likely to be useful for those planning to do rigorous mainstream empirical research with an interest in having that analysis be on firm psychological and theoretical foundations. But the position won't be as effective as most other pre-doc positions in improving empirical or data-related skills.

Hours and Compensation:
This is a full-time position, with compensation and health benefits based on experience and Harvard guidelines. The fellow is expected to work on-site in Cambridge, MA. Visa sponsorship is available.

Location:
Department of Economics and Business School, Harvard University

Start date:
Summer or Fall 2026 (Sooner is also possible for those who finish Bachelor's earlier)

Duration:
Presumptively 2 years (All contracts are for made for one year withe the possibility of extension for a 2nd year in light of satisfactory performance); a 3rd year extension may be possible if there is mutual interest

Some research papers which illustrate this agenda are: Laibson (1997), Rabin & Schrag (1999), Gul & Pesendorfer (2001), Eyster & Rabin (2005), Koszegi ( ? 2006), Koszegi & Rabin ( ? 2006), Battigalli & Dufwenberg (2009), Esponda & Pouzo (2016), Gagnon-Bartsch & Bushong (2022) and Beshears, Choi, Clayton et al. (2025).

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree by start date.
• Strong background in proof-based microeconomic theory (at the level of Mas-Colell, Whinston & Green; Jehle & Reny; Kreps; or other comparable PhD-level textbooks), mathematics, probability, and statistics.
• Proficiency with LATEX/Overleaf by beginning of appointment is a must. Familiarity with programming languages such as R, Python or MATLAB is a plus.
• A broader background in experimental design, behavioral economics, or psychology are all pluses, but are not replacements for the required proficiency in economic theory.
• An interest in pursuing a PhD in Economics or related fields is a must. The position is relatively new, but of the five "alumni" of the position so far, one each has enrolled in Economics PhD programs at Harvard, Penn, and Stanford, and two at Berkeley.

Special Instructions

Interested candidates should apply via this job posting, submitting required information and documents as prompted AND submit the following materials detailed below via email to rabin.predoc2026@gmail.com:

1. Resume/CV
2. Cover letter detailing relevant coursework, research interests and career goals, and (if applicable) experience as a research assistant or with independent research
3. Start-date preferences and whether you require visa sponsorship
4. Transcript from your Bachelor's degree, as well as Master's programs and other university level courses (unofficial is okay, but will be subject to verification). Because pre-existing background in advanced economic theory (as noted above) is needed, any courses indicating such a background that are not clear from the transcript should be described in the cover letter
5. Names, positions, and email addresses for two academic references

When submitting your application, please follow these conventions:

• All materials should be combined in a single PDF file.
• The PDF should follow the naming convention LastName_FirstName_PredocApp2026.pdf (for example, Bayes_Thomas_PredocApp2026.pdf).
• The email should have the subject line "Pre-Doctoral Fellow Application 2026 - {First Name} {Last Name}" (for example, "Pre-Doctoral Fellow Application 2026 - Thomas Bayes").

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until positions are filled, but applicants are encouraged to submit their applications by December 5 to ensure maximal consideration. We will try to post information on Professor Rabin's website and elsewhere promptly if applications are no longer being considered. We will notify those who are still under active consideration as of early December that the application is still being considered (and will quickly do so for those who apply later), but will not notify all individuals whose applications we have to decline. Those whose applications indicate that they might be a match for this position and who would like to know where they stand because of other looming decisions should let us know and we will try to accommodate you.

Contact Information

Shree M

Contact Email: econacademicappointments@fas.harvard.edu

Salary Range

$50,000 - $60,000

Minimum Number of References Required: 2

Maximum Number of References Allowed: 2