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gilinternship

Researching Neuroeconomics at UNC Kenan-Flagler - with Ari Etin


I am Ari Etin, a third-year Honors student studying economics and psychology at UNC. I love learning about the way individuals make decisions (psychology) especially in light of optimal decisions (economics) and how we can design systems which bridge the gap between the two (applied behavioral economics). Outside of academics, I spend my free time fencing for UNC’s division 1 team and hiking in the mountains of North Carolina (definitely DON’T go to West Jefferson).


The opportunity to get hands-on experience studying the nuances of how decisions are made is what drew me into the Gil Internship, during which I have been collaborating with Dr. Camelia Kuhnen, a professor of finance at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Her work explores household finance and neuroeconomics; in other words, she studies how people make decisions about their time and money as well as the neuroscience that underpins those choices. Her work has supported individuals, firms, and regulators in decision-making in light of neuroscience. For instance, a hedge fund might update their financial product offerings for the different risk preferences older people have, considering relevant changes to risk and valuation circuitry in the brain.


Working directly with Dr. Kuhnen has been a unique experience. Since I am not part of a much larger lab structure– like some of my fellow interns this semester – I get a much closer relationship with my mentor. While she has many other projects, on topics ranging from online gambling to relative efficiencies of different loan market structures, this project is a direct collaboration between the two of us. As a result, there have been more opportunities for mentorship through emails and meetings which would otherwise have been with more junior lab members.


My research this semester has been on age-related changes to brain structure and how they influence financial decision making (technically, “the neuroeconomics of aging”). I have been conducting literature reviews on the latest scientific developments as well as industry perspectives from finance to regulators. This will inform some of Dr. Kuhnen’s research and writing for a section of an upcoming publication. Additionally, my findings may lay the groundwork for additional research at Kenan-Flagler, and by identifying areas where neuroeconomics can answer pressing industry questions, other research organizations may follow suit.


Entering the Gil Internship, I was looking for a place to expand my understanding of the interactions between the science of the brain and the science of economics, and this has been just that. Already, I am uncovering fields of questions I had never before considered. Moreover, I am developing invaluable networks of mentors and peers in the process. I can only look forward to the semester ahead.


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