Ulrike Malmendier

The O’Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics and Finance at the University of California, Berkeley is seeking a postdoctoral scholar to join a funded research program focused on behavioral economics, behavioral finance, and applied economics. The scholar will work closely with Professor Ulrike Malmendier and coauthors Matthew Ridley and Kate Orkin on a new research agenda examining how predictability and controllability shape economic responses to stress, with particular attention to labor markets. The project begins with randomized controlled trials planned in Kenya, with possible expansion to Western industrialized countries and neuroscientific evaluation in collaboration with neuroscience colleagues. The role is embedded in Berkeley’s O’Donnell Center for Behavioral Economics and Finance, which is jointly housed in the Haas School of Business and the Department of Economics. The center connects researchers across several parts of the university, including economics, business, public health, public policy, and information science, and offers a collaborative environment with seminars and internal workshops. The scholar will contribute to experimental design, treatment development, RCT supervision, data collection and analysis, and project writing, while also being part of a broader research community with opportunities for mentorship and complementary research.