Behavioral Economics
Decoding Decision-Making:
Unpacking Choices and Outcomes
Behavioral Economics at IBR
Operant behavioral economics, as applied within the framework of behavioral psychology, leverages microeconomics concepts like consumer demand and labor supply theories to analyze and understand behavior regarding the environmental control of actions by studying commodity or reinforcer constraints.
This approach focuses on how behavior is maintained by various commodity constraints in both laboratory settings and practical applications, emphasizing the analysis of consumption and choice based on the principles of Skinnerian operant conditioning (Hursh & Roma, 2016).
Fundamental concepts such as supply, demand, price, consumption, value, and choice are not limited to monetary exchanges in the human commercial marketplace.
Applying these principles to animal and human behavior has created an innovative and influential theoretical framework yielding novel insights on topics as diverse as substance use, social behavior, obesity, public transportation, healthcare, and various extensions to national policy (Reed, Strickland, et al., 2022).
Under Dr. Hursh’s leadership, IBR is widely considered the international hub for operant behavioral economic research and translation. Research conducted by Dr. Hursh and Dr. Derek Reed at IBR primarily focuses on transferring behavioral economic technologies to industrial, clinical treatment, and public policy applications (Hursh, 1991; Hursh et al., 2020; Reed, Strickland, et al., 2022; Roma et al., 2017; Schwartz & Hursh, 2022).
Delve into fundamental concepts that shape our understanding and application of behavioral economics in diverse contexts, including:
- Behavioral Insights
- Supply and Demand
- Choice Analysis
- Value Economics
- Price Dynamics
- Consumption Metrics
- Public Policy
- Healthcare Economics
Strategic Behavioral Insights
for Optimal Solutions
In addition to its translational research efforts, IBR conducts basic and conceptual analyses to refine and advance behavioral economic theories and research methods (Gilroy et al., 2021; Hursh & Schwartz, 2022; Kaplan et al., 2019; Reed, Gelino, et al., 2022)
Public Policy
Shaping public policy with behavioral insights to enhance public well-being.
B.E. Consulting
Delivering actionable behavioral insights to drive effective policies and practices
B.E. Research
Advancing behavioral research to shape impactful policies and innovative solutions