Daniel J. Benjamin
Professor of Behavioral Economics and Genoeconomics
About
Daniel Benjamin’s background is in behavioral economics, where his research incorporates ideas and methods from psychology into economic analysis. His research on genoeconomics develops tools for incorporating genomic data into the social sciences. His research topics include understanding errors people make in statistical reasoning; exploring how best to use survey measures of subjective well-being to track national well-being and evaluate policies; and identifying genetic variants associated with outcomes such as educational attainment and subjective well-being.
Topics
6 Articles
![An illustration featuring text that reads "happiness" and other items such as scissors and a ruler](https://anderson-review.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AR-thumb-happy-surveys.png)
How-To Guide for Happiness Surveys, Which Increasingly Drive Public Policy
Advice for researchers aims to help improve both data collection and its interpretation
![A color image of a genome.](https://anderson-review.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AR-thumb-educational-attainment.jpg)
College Completion and Your Genome (Don’t Get Too Excited)
It’s still early days in genetic research, though advances will aid study of educational attainment and, notably, disease
![A sleeping baby wrapped in a white blanket wearing a black graduation cap with a red tasle](https://anderson-review.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/AR-thumb-genetic-college-v2.jpg)
How Far Would You Go for an Ivy League Kid?
Study finds interest in screening embryos for education propensity, especially if everyone else is doing it
![An illustration featuring text that reads "happiness" and other items such as scissors and a ruler](https://anderson-review.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/AR-thumb-happiness-index.jpg)
The Unhappy Quest for a Happiness Index
Pushing aside GDP for a measure of human well-being turns out to be very, very difficult. Ask Dan Benjamin
![Person looking through a multifaceted gemstone](https://anderson-review.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/AR-vitro-thumb-760x570.jpg)
Embryo Selection, Polygenic Scoring and Unrealistic Expectations
False hope for instilling disease resistance and desirable traits?
![A young child leans onto a desk with arms folded and stares at a small marshmallow](https://anderson-review.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/AR-marshmallow-thumb-760x570.png)
New Study Disavows Marshmallow Test’s Predictive Powers
Test’s originator was a central co-author but died before its completion