Deadline: 30 November 2018
The Russell Sage Foundation is seeking letter of inquiries for its program entitled “Behavioral Economics” that support innovative research that uses behavioral insights from psychology, economics, sociology, political science and other social sciences to examine and improve social and living conditions in the United States.
The program seeks investigator-initiated research proposals that will broaden their understanding of the social, economic and political consequences of real-life behaviors and decisions.
Priority Areas
- Poverty, Inequality and Mobility: Recent studies find that poverty and other forms of resource scarcity burden people’s mental capacities and leave less ‘mind’ for other concerns.
- Labor Markets: Compared to other fields, the progress in applying behavioral insights to labor economics has been more uneven and scattered.
- Parenting and Child Development: Resource scarcity may also influence parenting and child development. Research shows that the gaps in children’s achievement and behavior are due in part to the differences in parenting in rich and poor families.
- Racial and Ethnic Bias: Recent studies have documented the existence of in-group racial biases in employment, criminal, judicial and educational settings. While social and legal changes have eliminated many institutionalized forms of racial discrimination, the same policy tools may have less leverage against implicit racial stereotypes.
- Public Finance: Behavioral insights have played the most obvious role in finance, where behavioral finance has become its own thriving field. A better understanding of human behavior may provide a more useful framework for analyzing public finance issues, such as social insurance, income support and redistribution, and taxation.
- Choice Architecture: It describes the different ways in which options can be presented to consumers, and the impact of that presentation on decision-making. For example, in Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness (2009), Thaler and Sunstein show how choice architecture can successfully nudge people toward better decisions.
Eligibility Criteria
- All applicants (both PIs and Co-PIs) must have a doctorate. In rare circumstances, RSF may consider applications from scholars who do not hold a doctorate but can demonstrate a strong career background that establishes their ability to conduct high-level, peer-reviewed scholarly research. Students may not be applicants.
- RSF particularly encourages early career scholars to apply for Presidential grants.
- All nationalities are eligible to apply and applicants do not have to reside in the U.S., but the focus of the proposed research project must be on the U.S. as per their mission.
How to Apply
Interested applicants must submit their Letter of Inquiry online via given website.
For more information, please visit Russell Sage Foundation.